Daughter of the Ice
by Night's Darkness
Summary: The Coalition is on the verge of being formed, and Archer is determined to see it through. Shran has a secret that could destroy humanity's trust in the Andorians. Can Archer and Shran make the secret work to the Coalition's advantage?
1. Prologue

**Daughter of the Ice**

**Prologue**

The starship was drifting through space like a snowflake surrounded by meltwater, dark and broken.

The Commander of the Andorian Warship tried not to feel sorrow as he stared at it. After all, it wasn't one of his peoples' ships, in fact he'd never seen its design before. It was awkward looking, as if it was a new design, or the species was new to space travel. The ship's appearance wasn't improved by the severe damage it had suffered.

"Analysis." snapped the Commander, looking away from the pitiful sight.

"Several hull breaches, life support still active via auxiliary power, and- Commander! There's a single lifesign. It's weak but it's there."

The entire bridge crew looked at their commanding officer, whose antennas twitched in intrigue. He looked out at the small ship again, weighing the various options he had in his mind. He could ignore it and leave it to die, after all, this species was not one of their few allies. On the other hand, neither was it one of their enemies. But the Commander had been shown the hard way that it was unwise to trust any aliens.

So, reasoning it was better to know about this unknown species from a live one than a dead crew, he ordered his first officer,

"Assemble an away team. Take the biohazard suits and find the lifesign. Restrain it if necessary and inform it that as an intruder into Andorian space they are in our custody." He held up a strong hand to silence any response from the first officer, adding, "Feel free to use force if necessary. As much as is required."

His first officer nodded, eyes glinting in potential excitement at the idea of killing what could be another threat to their beloved planet and people. The Commander dismissed his first officer with a sharp jerk of his head. Then he handed over the bridge to his second, who leapt to his feet and plopped into the seat. The Commander decided he'd need yet another word with his second about decorum. The crew was still fresh and new and he was still new to commanding an entire ship. His second may have been a close friend, but that didn't mean he could act like he was at home.

Actually, having met his second's mother, he was pretty sure his second would never act like that at home.

In the commander's office, he picked up a pad on the crew's performance and began to go through it. The Imperial Guard needed regular updates and they could not be late. As he worked, he kept one eye on his ancient timepiece from home. It was a prized possession of his, elegant and beautiful, and measuring time to perfection by the constant rate of melting ice dripping from one glass dome into another and refreezing. His first officer would check in after about an hour.

His comm. went off in less than half that time.

"Commander Shran." Lieutenant Tarah's strong, drawling voice broke his concentration.

"Shran here."

"We've discovered the life sign, but…"

"But what? Is it a species we know?"

"Not according to the scanners, but…"

"But what Lieutenant?"

"Well, sir, it's… it appears to be a child."

Commander Shran's antennas stiffened in surprise, then squirmed in consternation.

This certainly changed things quite a bit.

* * *

More Soon.

Reviews are greatly appreciated!

Night's Darkness


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

_(Nine Earthen Years Later)_

Captain Jonathon Archer paced in his ready room, feeling restless and a little anxious.

The Andorian Imperial Council had contacted Starfleet and requested that Archer come to Babel, the planet where the Tellerites and Andorians had planned to make peace after two hundred years of war. Thankfully, they'd been able to achieve the same results on Enterprise, even with the added difficulty of Romulan interference and the issue that only one of the people involved in the impromptu negotiations was a fully trained ambassador.

Now Enterprise was heading, once again, for Babel, but this time Archer didn't know why. The Imperial Council had been very cryptic about what they needed to discuss with Earth. A fact which raised another question. The Imperial Council had requested that a Vulcan representative also attend the meeting. Ambassador Soval had been sent and would meet Archer on Babel. Why would the Andorians want the Vulcans involved?

Archer wished he could ask the one Andorian he felt he could trust what was going on. But he hadn't heard from or about Commander Shran since Enterprise had left him and young Jhamel back on Andoria. Although he doubted it would happen, he half hoped it would be Shran he dealt with. The gruff, sarcastic, blunt Andorian had proven a good ally in battle and at the negotiation table.

"_Bridge to Captain Archer."_

"Go ahead."

"_We're entering the Babel system. Ambassador Soval is asking to speak with you."_

"Put him through."

Archer sat down at his desk and opened the channel. Soval's impassive face appeared on the screen.

"Ambassador."

"Captain."

"What can I do for you?"

"I was curious to know if the Andorians had fashioned you with any more information about the reason for this meeting."

"Your guess is as good as mine I'm afraid. They seem very reluctant to divulge any information. All I know is the name of the Ambassador we'll be meeting with. It's Thoris."

"Ah, yes. I have dealt with Ambassador Thoris before."

"So what's your opinion of him? Am I going to be wishing for Shran's delicate political manoeuvres?" Archer hid a grimace remembering too late what had happened last time Shran and Soval met. However the Vulcan did not appear perturbed at the reminder of his own torture. Instead, he said, surprisingly,

"You may indeed. Ambassador Thoris is… difficult when it comes to reaching any kind of mutual agreement, more so than Shran even."

"Huh, thanks for the warning."

"You are welcome. There was another matter I wish to discuss with you after this meeting."

"Regarding?"

"I would prefer to wait until after the meeting. It could alter things."

"Alright then. I'll see you soon."

"Indeed."

They cut the link. Archer drew in a deep breath and steeled himself for the day.

* * *

Babel was a Class D planet, surrounded by rings, and resembled a mini version of Saturn. However, unlike the giant gas planet, Babel was a solid planet covered mostly in sand, with a handful of oasis. The largest of these was the location of the Neutral Embassy. In the main hall the emblems of every alien species that had ever held negotiations on the planet decorated the walls. Archer glanced at the Vulcan IDIC symbol on one wall, then at the Andorian symbol on the opposite wall. The Tellerite symbol was beside the Andorian one, and next to it was the Coridian symbol. The rest Archer didn't really recognise. T'Pol beside him seemed to find the ceiling, with its constellation design intriguing.

The main entrance slid open and Soval entered with a waft of warm air. The Vulcan was wearing his usual robes, and he greeted Archer and T'Pol with a sense of warmth that made Archer smile as he returned the greeting, throwing in a Vulcan salute for good measure.

They spoke with familiar ease as they awaited the arrival of Ambassador Thoris.

"I heard you had a rather… interesting encounter with some Orions only last week Captain." said Soval, staring at Archer carefully. Archer threw T'Pol a suspicious glance as he said,

"Erm… yeah, interesting is not quite how I'd describe it."

Soval raised a single eyebrow, his eyes twinkling for a brief second, "Indeed."

Archer coughed, feeling his cheeks flush a little, remembering his own actions and thoughts while he was under the influence of the Orion women's pheromones. The Andorian Ambassador Thoris arrived with his assistant at that moment, saving Archer from further embarrassment.

Ambassador Thoris was tall for an Andorian male, the tallest Archer had seen so far, and he was skinny, with sharp cheekbones. His thin blond hair had flecks of blue in it, and he wore the Ambassadorial sash and robes of Andoria. He was a good bit older than Shran, and not as well built as the stocky Commander. His voice had a thin, reedy quality to it, as he spoke.

"Captain Archer, Ambassador Soval, thank you for coming. The strength of Andor and the grace of Andoria be with you."

"Live Long and Prosper, Ambassador Thoris." replied Soval, giving the Vulcan salute again. The Andorian nodded his head to accept the gesture. Archer, meanwhile, found himself wishing that humans had a standard greeting like the Vulcans and Andorians did, even as he said,

"Thank you. Starfleet sends greetings on behalf of Earth." They hadn't but he was fairly sure he'd get away with it. He also tried to remember if Andor was the gas giant, or the inhabited moon, which was the homeworld of the Andorians and the Aenar. He was fairly sure the small moon had the longer name. Thoris inclined his head again to Archer. "This is my first officer, T'Pol."

"Commander."

"Ambassador."

"This is my assistant Erib. Shall we begin?"

"Lets."

They went to their allotted negotiation room and sat down at the square table. Thoris and Erib sat opposite Archer and T'Pol, and Soval sat at Archer's left. Thoris coughed and seemed hesitant to begin now they were gathered. Archer decided to push a little and get things started.

"So the Imperial Representative was pretty vague about the reason for this impromptu meeting…"

"Yes. It was necessary. We wanted to speak to you in person about this, to allow for a full explanation."

"… Ok. So what is this all about?"

Thoris sighed and took a PADD from Erib, his fingers twitching around the edges of it.

"You must understand Captain, we did not keep this from you for ill reasons."

"Ok, so tell me!" Archer felt aggravated already. He'd gotten used to Shran's forwardness.

"Very well." Thoris folded his hands on top of the PADD, looking grim. "Almost ten earth years ago, one of our warships came across a battle-damaged ship adrift in space. We did not recognise its design, although we were sure it had been attacked by the Orions. There was one lifesign, so the commanding officer sent an away team to investigate." Thoris glanced at Archer, as if expecting him to say something, but Archer had nothing to say. He had noted the way Soval had tensed beside him, but the Vulcan's face gave away nothing. Thoris continued,

"The away team found the lifesign. It was a small child, only just out of infancy. We quickly determined she was related to the dead crew. As is our policy regarding children, she was brought aboard the ship. After a thorough medical assessment, to ensure nothing she carried was a threat, she was brought back to Andoria and adopted into an Andorian family. Captain, the child is human."

Archer stared at Thoris, feeling like a large slab of ice had been dropped into his stomach. His mind prayed that Thoris was not talking about who he thought he was, even as Archer's mind brought up memories…

"_-The two scientists along with two of their three children found dead in space –youngest child's body has not been found-"_

"_-Earth mourns the deaths of the Andres family. The fate of their youngest daughter, Raizel, is undetermined. Her grandparents say they will not give up hope until her body has been found.-" _

"_-Jon this whole thing with the Andres family has thrown the Enterprise project into jeopardy. It may have to be put off for a decade or so…"_

"_If your species cannot handle the loss of a single family, and is not ready to accept the dangers of space travel, then it is logical that you wait until you are ready."_

Archer snapped back to the present, unable to stop himself from leaning forwards and saying, almost desperately,

"Please, Ambassador, please tell me you are not talking about Raizel Andres."

Thoris' antennas twitched, and he shared a look with Erib, before nodding, "Yes Captain, that is her name."

Archer dearly wanted to put his head in his hands as the understanding of what he was being told hit him like a ton of bricks. He restrained himself, but his shocked expression must have made it clear how he felt.

Soval jumped in when Archer made no reply, "Raizel Andres is a very sensitive subject on Earth."

"Oh?" Thoris frowned, his antennas curling inwards.

"Indeed. When her family's ship was discovered by a Vulcan ship, and the news of their deaths became public, Earth's reaction was very strong."

"Why?"

"Well, for one thing, it was the first such incident to occur for humans, that a family, non-military at that, was killed without explanation. The senselessness of their deaths was deeply affecting. The fact that one of the three children was missing was a greater cause for concern. Humans are extremely protective of their offspring, the possibility that this young girl was alive and being held prisoner horrified the entire population."

"Her disappearance and her family's deaths nearly put Enterprise back a decade!" added Archer, feeling furious.

"Captain, when she was rescued it was not our intention to cause a problem for your people."

"Then why didn't you contact us about her?"

"Because we didn't know who you were. We hadn't encountered Humans before."

"As I recall it was you and Commander Shran who made first contact." said Erib, a tinge of sarcasm on his words.

"Yes, but surely you could have contacted us."

"It's not our policy to make first contact through children."

"What?"

Thoris lifted his hands in an open gesture as he explained, "She was a child, an infant. Andorian laws are quite clear about children, even alien children. If the child had been Vulcan, or Klingon or Caxtonian, even Orion, we would have sent her back to her own kind, but we'd never heard of you. Until we made official first contact with you, there was nothing we could do except bring her to Andoria and have her taken in. I can assure you she has been raised very well."

"We have a special system, designed specifically to ensure the well-being of children. Since the concept of child-neglect or abuse is almost an alien concept to us –if you'll pardon the term- the system focuses most of its attentions on orphaned children. It's very efficient and thorough."

Soval spoke up as Erib fell quiet, "I feel I must assure the Captain that Andorians are extremely involved parents. They have a telepathic bond with their children and they will go to extreme lengths to defend their own and other children. As I understand it, it was only when the invading Orions targeted your offspring that you were able to drive them out, no doubt via the added… stimulation."

"No doubt." said Thoris.

Archer shook his head, "I don't understand, how is it that all this is only coming out now? Once we made first contact surely you should have informed us."

"Unfortunately by the time we made first contact with you she was made an official, permanent Andorian citizen. Now, only high treason could dissolve that. It changed things. We had to ensure you were safe for her."

"You regard her as a child of Andoria, so you needed to ensure humans were a species you could trust." T'Pol seemed a little surprised.

"Exactly, until the treaty was done, most of which was done by you and Commander Shran, we couldn't, by our laws, inform you of her existence."

"But now you can."

"It's been a matter of some debate. The girl has adapted remarkably well to Andorian life. There was a suggestion that we wait until she reached majority and allow her to make the decision on her own. Considering we thought it would take more time to form an alliance with you, it seemed sensible at the time. However, we did not want to risk you finding out about her via some unofficial means if we waited, as that could have caused an interplanetary incident."

"It still might." said Archer, pinching the bridge of his nose. "This could be a political disaster." He thought about Nathan Samuels, one of Earth's ministers. He was pushing for a Coalition of Planets, there was a conference tentatively scheduled in four months time in San Francisco. The Andorians were among the species invited.

"Are you telling us now because of the upcoming Coalition talks?"

Thoris nodded, spreading his hands again, "It was another factor of our decision making. The Andorian Government didn't want to go into the Coalition with any lies, even lies of omission."

Archer doubted that. It was more likely they just didn't want to be caught with their pants down. Earth would not have reacted well if it had come out after the Coalition was formed. The reaction was going to be bad enough as it was. Archer could already hear the outrage –partially because he felt some of it himself.

"I would assume that a human child on Andoria would attract quite a bit of attention."

Thoris' antennas twitched, "You wish to know if Commander Shran was aware of her existence?"

"Yes." Archer's tone was sharp.

Thoris sighed, then pushed the PADD over to him. "This is a copy of the official adoption document for Raizel Andres, translated into Human English. There is also an analysis of her DNA and some medical information. Read it."

Archer glanced at Soval, whose eyebrow twitched, then picked the PADD up and started scanning through it. His brow furrowed, and abruptly he threw it back down on the table.

"Is this a joke?"

"No. Merely coincidental."

"Coincidental? This is nonsense! You're trying to tell me that Shran, the man whose xenophobia almost precedes him, adopted an alien child?"

Thoris shrugged, "Yes."

Archer glared at the Ambassador, refusing to believe what he was being told. It was too much, it was too ridiculous. Shran had never once shown any inclination to knowing anything about Humans, and he'd been as suspicious of them as he had been of the Vulcans. There was no way-!

"How was it that Shran came to adopt her?" asked T'Pol, glancing at Archer, then looking back at Thoris. Thoris sighed,

"Commander Shran's warship, the Kumari, was the ship that found her. It is not as preposterous as it may seem. Due to ship shortages, the Imperial Guard could not allow the Kumari to abandon its six month assignment. They found the Human ship in their first month. And because of our policy involving biological analysis regarding new species, we had to keep her isolated anyway. So she spent five of our months on the Kumari. It was during this time that Commander Shran formed a bond with her."

"A telepathic bond?" Soval looked almost surprised.

"Yes."

"But humans do not possess any latent telepathic abilities."

"We know. But the Commander bonded with her. It can be medically confirmed. This bond forming is the official means of adoption on Andoria. Documents are merely a formality."

"And as I understand it, the Andorian family bonds are unbreakable except by death."

"Correct."

"So once it was done, there was no undoing it."

"Yes."

"I must admit I'd be much happier if Shran was the one here explaining this." said Archer.

'_And while he's at it, I can punch him for keeping this from me.'_

"Perhaps Captain, but Commander Shran is not a trained ambassador. Your experiences with him have been more militaristic than ambassadorial. In addition, since she is his daughter, is not appropriate that he be involved in the official negotiations, as this is a personal situation for him. In any case, due to the investigation, he cannot perform any official acts."

As Archer wondered when it wasn't personal on some level for Shran, he asked, alarmed, "What investigation?"

"The investigation to determine if Commander Shran was responsible for the loss of his ship. It's standard procedure I assure you Captain." added Thoris, seeing the almost indignant expression on Archer's face. He was mad, but the idea of Shran getting blamed for the loss of the _Kumari_ converted some of his anger at the Commander to anger towards the Imperial Guard.

Soval shifted in his seat, leaning forward a little, "Returning to the matter at hand, you said the child is a legal citizen of Andoria."

"Yes."

"May I ask under what status?"

Thoris squirmed, as if he found this topic irritating, "There was some difficulty in classifying her, due to the differences between Andorian and Human development. In the end we agreed it was best to classify her as a Primary Neuter, as with all Andorian children of similar age as her. We also classified her as a zhen."

"She must be –what? Fifteen now?" asked Archer, not very interested in the differing status of Andorians at that moment, "She was five when she disappeared. It's been almost ten earth years since then."

"That is our estimation of her age as well." said Thoris.

"Is she aware of this discussion?"

"Of course. We had to inform her and her father about it."

"And what was their opinion of it?"

"As I understand it, Commander Shran agreed with the reasoning that explaining it now was for the best. The child herself was less inclined to it. As I said before, she's adapted well to Andorian life, and doesn't appear to have any interest in leaving."

"Her biological family will want her back."

"That is understandable Captain. However, she is a legal citizen of Andoria, entitled to the protection of the Andorii. If you attempt to force her to stay on Earth against her will, there will be repercussions."

Archer gritted his teeth as he nodded to show he understood. Then he stood up, grabbing the PADD again,

"If you will excuse me Ambassador, I must speak with Starfleet to see what course of action my government wishes to take."

Thoris' antennas reared back, obviously perceiving a threat and he stood up, saying in an oily voice, "Of course. We can reconvene when you are ready. Captain. Ambassador. Commander."

Archer nodded, then turned smartly on his heels and walked away. T'Pol and Soval followed him.

As Archer headed back to the shuttle, parked in the buildings shuttle park, he tried to ignore the strongest emotion raging through his mind.

Betrayal. It was strong and biting in the pit of his stomach. Shran could have told him, should have told him. Even as a friend, he should have told him. At least if he'd known before, he could have been prepared for the official revelation.

The timing was all wrong for this. Earth's population was going to have a collective kitten when the truth of the Andres' youngest child emerged. They were still recovering from the devastation of the Xindi attack, and the Andres experience had been like the preview of that. It was buried in the minds of the population. Yes, people had died in space, and Earth colonies had been established and there had been some difficulties with aliens, but the senseless deaths of the young family had affected the whole planet.

This could put the whole Coalition in danger if it wasn't handled right, even destroy all the efforts Archer had put in along with Starfleet to establish a peace treaty.

He was going to kill Shran when he got hold of him!

* * *

Reviews are greatly appreciated.

Night's Darkness


	3. Chapter 2

Thank you to all who are reading, and reviewing, this story. I hope you all continue to enjoy it.

* * *

**Chapter 2**

Starfleet's reaction was pretty much as Archer had expected. Admiral Gardner's was at any rate. First he'd been disbelieving, then he'd been angry at the fact it had been kept a secret, then angry at the threat it posed to the political development between the planets. When he'd calmed down and accepted the information, he told Archer he'd need to speak with the Starfleet Council. They both agreed to keep this information as secret as possible.

Now Archer was reviewing the Laws of Andoria, specifically those regarding children. After an hour his brain was beginning to hurt, there were so many laws and sub-laws and sub-sub-laws and exceptions, that eventually he gave up and switched his consol off.

His anger had subsided a bit by then. It was becoming clear that Shran couldn't have told him, even if he'd wanted to. Andorian law had prevented him.

His door chime beeped.

"Come in."

The door slid in and Ambassador Soval entered the ready room. Archer stood up,

"Soval."

"Captain."

"Please, sit down."

Much to Archer's surprise, Soval did. The Vulcan regarded the Human carefully, before speaking,

"Have you had time to absorb this… revelation?"

"A little."

"You were quite distressed by it."

"You could say that. You were there when the news of the Andres family became public. You saw the way Earth reacted. When it comes out that their worst fears are truths and it's a species we're trying to make friends with-"

"The Ambassador made it clear she was not abused, which was the greatest concern of Earth at the time. And you are attempting to involve the Xindi in the Coalition. It may not be as violent a reaction as you expect."

"I don't know about that. I mean, yes, what the Xindi did was far worse, by an unfathomable degree, but I have this feeling Earth will react to this badly because… because it was the first time it happened, you know?"

"I believe I understand. It was your first experience and it remains fixed in your minds and its strength of effect has not diminished in the passing time."

"Exactly."

"I do not doubt it will disconcerting for Earth, given the upset it caused, but it must be remembered that this not a tragedy or a negative revelation. Raizel Andres is not only alive, she has been raised and cared for-"

"Allegedly! The medical records could be false."

"Captain, do you really think Shran would harm her?"

Archer sighed, sitting back in his seat. "Probably not. Although I can't help but recall my first meeting with him."

"A rather memorable first contact."

"Archer gave a huff of a laugh, "Indeed." Then he sobered again, "Even if Shran didn't harm her, he's probably been in space for most of her life, working for the Imperial Guard. Who did she live with? Did they treat her well? And what about other Andorians? They're all xenophobic, they're even hostile to the Aenar. I find it hard to believe that they would have just accepted her."

"It does seem unlikely. However, I have become quite familiar with Andorian laws and policies. They do seem to be very strict in their handling of all children, alien or otherwise. They don't involve them in anything political, and in theory don't allow their prejudices against a species affect their treatment of a child. As they see it, if the child has no choice or involvement in the politics of their people, then it is not justified to punish them for their species actions. They place great value on maintaining this policy. Even during the height of Vulcan-Andorian hostilities, if the Andorians happened upon a Vulcan child, they would return it safely to us. I believe it was the same with the Tellerites, and even with the Orions, their traditional enemy. Had first contact with humans occurred before she was found, no doubt she would have been returned to you."

"So it's bad timing for all."

"So it would seem."

They were silent for a moment, then Archer held out the PADD to the Vulcan.

"Take a look."

Soval took the PADD and looked at the small screen. On it was a digital image of a young human adolescent.

She was dressed in dark blue silk, with fur trimming on her hood that draped elegantly on her shoulders. Her skin was incredibly pale, quite literally white, rather than the pink Shran enjoyed commenting on. Her hair, which Soval recalled from the picture of the Andres family as being brown, was now white blond, with silver, darker blond and white highlights. It was thick, wavy and long. Like most young Andorian females, she wore it loose about her shoulders. It was clear she wasn't posing, she was in mid step, looking over her shoulder, as if someone was calling her back. She had the cool, dignified expression that Soval had seen on many Andorian females, and she held her head high, like a noble.

Soval noted with some fascination that her eyes, despite being green rather than brown, were incredibly similar to Shran's in terms of their strength and intelligence.

Setting the PADD down again, Soval said, "It does not appear that she has suffered at their hands. If it were not for the difference in humans and Andorians physically, no doubt there would be no way to tell the difference in her."

Archer nodded, he too had been struck by the way she held her herself in the picture. Her almost haughty expression made her look older than 15, and there was no sign of childhood puppy fat. Archer could remember the toddler in the pictures had been rather chubby, brown haired and Bambi-eyed. He barely recognised her in this Andorian-styled girl.

"What do you think Starfleet will tell you to do?"

"I'd say they'll order Enterprise to Andoria to meet her, and have Phlox confirm her health and maybe bring her to Earth."

"Bringing her to Earth against her will could be construed as an act of aggression on the part of the Andorians, as Ambassador Thoris said."

"We can try to reason with her, and she may in fact want to come with us and just not want to say it to the Andorians."

"You think she is afraid of speaking her mind?"

"Afraid, or maybe just reluctant to seem ungrateful for their care. We won't know until we meet her. But I can't do anything until I hear from Starfleet."

"Of course."

"I'm sure I don't need to ask you to keep this information to yourself for the time being."

"I suspected that you would ask that of me. I will not inform the High Command just yet, but I cannot deliberately deceive them."

"Thanks. I just don't want this news getting out until we've determined how it's to be handled. The Andres extended family has a lot of public support."

"Indeed."

Archer pushed the PADD aside, "Let's talk about something else. You said you had something you wished to discuss with me?"

"I did. Although perhaps now is not the best time."

"Well, we're here now, may as well say it."

Soval nodded, "Very well. I have been planning to submit a petition to the Imperial Council, regarding Commander Shran."

Ah, now Archer understood his reluctance. "Petition for what?"

"Despite the fact that he can be… trying at times, I have found Commander Shran an agreeable diplomat in matters of interplanetary cooperation. I am going to request that he be made a full time Ambassador, since he no longer has a vessel to command."

"Do you think the Imperial Guard will allow it? Shran gave the implication that he would not be seeing any kind of promotion after the destruction of the Kumari."

"True, however, I believe that if enough support can be garnered for him, the Imperial Guard may relent."

"Ah… you want me to add my support to the petition."

"Yes Captain. Ambassador Gral has agreed to assist as well."

"Do you think that would be enough?"

"I understand that Shran does have some supporters in his government, who have been pleased with his work thus far in maintaining peace for his planet and people. Ambassador Gral is also speaking with the Coridians, and I believe they too will vouch for him. That should be enough to convince the Imperial Guard that it is the logical course to take."

"Well… I'm not sure Shran will necessarily appreciate it, he is a military man first and foremost, not a diplomat. Still, he is pretty good at it. And, even though right now I'm still annoyed, I'll give my support."

"Thank you, Captain."

Archer inclined his head, "Well, I can't let this get in the way of what's best for all the planets. And Shran does seem a better choice than others."

Soval stood up, "I shall return to my ship. If you would inform me when Starfleet gives you new orders?"

"Of course." Archer stood up as the Ambassador left. He was just sitting down again, when the door chimed. "Come in."

T'Pol entered, carrying a PADD. She regarded Archer with a knowing expression, "I take it you wish that the information we received today is kept secret from the crew for now."

"Yeah, it's for the best, although Phlox is comparing the DNA analysis to be sure. The likelihood of this being a trick of some kind is low, but not impossible. Although why the Andorians would do it is beyond me."

T'Pol nodded, then glanced down at her PADD, "I've been reviewing the records regarding the Andres family. It was quite a traumatic experience for Earth."

"It was."

"It would also appear that Raizel Andres and Ensign Mayweather have something in common. They were both born in space."

"That's right." Archer smiled, "The parents were scientists. They were doing what Enterprise was launched to do. Explore. Too bad it cost them their lives and their children's."

"Except one child it seems."

Archer sighed, looking at the picture of Raizel Andres –or was it Raizel Shran now?- again, then showing T'Pol. T'Pol examined it, quirking an eyebrow as she did.

"Fascinating."

"What?"

"Despite the fact she is not Commander Shran's biological daughter… her eyes are remarkably like his."

"I thought so too. Maybe his personality has rubbed off on her."

"Perhaps, although the idea of another person like Shran, coupled with the arrogance Andorian women possess is… alarming."

Archer laughed. "It is actually."

"Do we know who she lived with on Andoria. Shran no doubt spent all his time in space."

"I just said that to Soval. It'll have to be found out."

"I find it strange. I had understood that unbonded Andorians could not have children. Yet Ambassador Thoris claims Shran bonded with Raizel."

"Hopefully Shran will be able to explain himself."

"He may be perfectly able. But will he want to explain himself?"

"Hrm, good point."

* * *

Archer decided he didn't like Thoris, the next time he met the Ambassador. He had all the arrogance of Shran, but none of the appeal.

"What says your government Captain?"

"Starfleet has ordered that Enterprise go to Andoria and establish that your claims are true, and ensure that Raizel Andres has been well cared for. They wish for a dialogue to be opened with her to suggest that she return to Earth where her biological family is."

Thoris' antennas squirmed and he scowled. But he inclined his head and said, in that same oily voice,

"Very well. My ship shall escort you to Andoria."

"Thank you very much."

"Ambassador Soval, in the interest of ensuring a… neutral party, the Imperial Council requests that you too travel to Andoria."

"Of course."

Archer saw the tension in Soval's jaw and could imagine him thinking _'Anything to keep the peace!'_

'_That'll be a tough job, knowing Shran.'

* * *

_

Reviews and concrit are always appreciated!

Night's Darkness


	4. Chapter 3

Apologies for the length of this: This chapter contains some very unfamiliar words (I've made most of them up), so here's a dictionary for a few of them. If this stuff still does not make sense I will try to explain it, but keep in mind this chapter is meant to be from the alien pov of an Andorian so if you could give it a few chapters, while we explore the culture, before asking for definitions, it's likely the questions will be answered pretty soon.

Thaan –the transference male

Chan –the incubating male

Shen –the ovarian female

Zhen –the pouch female

Corat –thaan father

Kika –chan father

Zhenun –zhen mother

Shezhan –shen mother

Zheshaa –great grandzhen

Thizhul –great grandthaan

Chaazh –great grandchan

Shev –great grandshen

* * *

**Chapter 3**

_(On Andorian)_

"Raizel! Get up!"

"Go away!"

"Now Raizel! Get up and have some breakfast."

"Leave me alone!"

Antennae thrashed in unrepressed frustration as Shran rapped his knuckles on the door sharply again. "Raizel come out now!"

"Go bed-wrestle a targ!"

"Watch your tone!"

Shran could feel his siblings watching from their position in the main room. It was the same argument every morning and had been ever since Shran had come home from the Enterprise.

His hangover throbbing in his head, Shran was in no mood to deal with his moody daughter's attitude.

"Raizel if you don't come out this instant you'll be scrubbing this conglomerate from top to bottom for a month."

"That's a thaan's job!" Raizel now sounded like a whinging youth through her locked bedroom door.

"It'll be your job if you don't come out."

"Fine!"

The door flew open and Raizel's bright pink face threw a glare at her Andorian father. She stormed past him and grabbed her bowl, stuffing the food into her mouth in one huge mouthful. Then she threw the bowl down onto the counter and stormed back into her room, slamming the door in Shran's face.

Snarling to himself, Shran turned away and grabbed his own food. He sat down in his favourite chair and started eating his own breakfast, while glaring at the air.

Lissiel rolled her eyes. Lissiel was the youngest zhen, but she was the tallest of the siblings. A long, slim, voluptuous body, and perfectly maintained blond hair that her pink-skin niece tried to emulate, Lissiel was a beauty, even for an Andorian zhen.

Senkrad, second last child, only a year older than Shran, was as short as him but not as stocky. Rather, as a chan male, he was slim, and softer featured than his thaan brother who was trying to murder his already dead breakfast. Senkrad pulled a face and stared out the window at the balcony which had a view of most of the Andorian city.

Shran, in a mirror action of his daughter, threw his bowl onto the floor when he was finished and then cradled his head in his hands. His hangover was quite bad, and the food wasn't helping.

As the siblings sat in tense silence, they all heard Raizel stomping around her room, then striding out of the house. The door slammed shut behind her. Shran didn't lift his head. It felt too heavy.

Lissiel sighed and carried her bowl into the kitchen, leaving it for Shran to clean.

"Well, I'm going to work. Senkrad?"

"Yes, I'll walk with you to the rehab clinic. With the heat wave coming in the next month, I need all the ice-cliff-climbing business I can get." Senkrad got to his feet, left his bowl in the kitchen with Lissiel's and grabbed his coat. He quickly rubbed his antennae against Shran's, but Shran didn't react. The two siblings left without another word.

The house fell quiet, the only sound was the beeping of the computer. Shran dragged his hands over his face and sat back in his chair, rubbing his cheek against the fur that smelt like warmth and food. His brown eyes rolled around, before coming to rest on the ceiling, staring up at it while his ears strained to hear any sounds coming from his Clan's conglomeration. There was nothing.

With a growl, Shran jumped to his feet, grabbed his bowl and stomped into the kitchen. He cleaned the cutlery from breakfast and put them away, glancing at the chronometer. It was early, too early to start drinking. Everyone else was either at school, collaborations, or work. Shran, a secondary without a cause, had nothing to do.

Heaving a sigh, Shran went into his bedroom, stripping off his clothes. He switched on the high pressured wash unit, and stepped into it, hissing at the feel of the ice cold water pummelling the back of his neck. He tried not to recall how this had always been more fun with Talas.

Ten minutes later he was dried and dressed, buckling up his dark brown fur coat, as he stepped out of his knoll. He stuffed his communicator into his pocket in case someone was looking for him.

No one would.

Wandering idly through the city he had grown up in, Shran kept his head up, even when some of the people he passed threw him unpleasant looks. He was far past the age where other peoples' opinions of him mattered to him.

It didn't take him long to make his way to the ice tunnels at the edge of the city. Not since he was a primary had he explored these caves as much as he had in recent weeks. Of course now it was more about keeping himself busy, rather than for fun.

With a slingshot, he hunted down four redbats, stringing them up and hanging them from his belt. Raizel liked redbat stew. It might help improve her insufferable mood. For a human female, she was not lacking in aggression. Shran would have been proud, if it wasn't hacking at his last nerve. Still it was somewhat understandable, given everything that had been going lately, not least of which was the Imperial Council's decision to reveal her existence to Starfleet.

Shran hadn't really wanted it either, but he had acquired a sense of diplomatic reason in the last few years –not that he would tell anyone- and knew Raizel could not be kept secret. Besides, he hated lying to pink-skin. The human was a friend, and Shran did not like deception at the best of times. The fact that he was very, very good at it was beside the point.

Shaking his head, Shran put the situation from his mind for the moment. As he took a particularly large step over a split in the ice, his leg twinged and he grimaced. He knew there was no reason to feel pain, the injury was well healed, but a part of his mind couldn't accept it. Shran knew it was the same part of his mind that kept making him stumble for no reason. His antenna had grown back quick, using the Denobulan's advice, and the Andorian doctors saw no reason for his continued instability.

Swearing to himself, Shran shot down another redbat and added it to his belt. As he passed through a geothermal cave, where the heat of the water had melted the ice away to reveal bare rock, he gathered some tuber root. Senkrad liked them. Shran made a mental note to get some ground ice-bore larvae. A little of it would make the whole dish spicier.

Boredom was not something Shran was used to, and he did not deal with it well. He tried to keep busy, but really all he could do was clean the house, cook food and get drunk. All of which he was now getting sick of. His moods were becoming as foul as Raizel's, but he felt far more justified about than her. After all, he had lost his crew, his second family. He was the one who was dealing with the humiliation of being considered mentally deficient due to the loss. And he was bound to be the target of future abuse regarding this whole situation with Raizel.

Eventually he ran out of ammo, and started to meander his way home. There was no rush, no one else would be home for hours. All the youths were at school, and the secondaries and Actives were working, while the infants were in their nurseries. Maybe one or two of his great-grandparents (out of sixty-four) would be around, but there was no way he was going to spend time with them. And of course, Raizel and her fellow primaries would be worshipping, singing, dancing, whatever their collaboration decided to do. The only one with nothing to do was Shran.

Eventually, Shran reached his Clan's conglomeration, where he had grown up.

In a tradition going back 1 million years (officially only 8000, when Andorian history began), Andorian houses grew with their family. It began with a single bonded quad, made up of a Zhen, a Shen, a Chan, and a Thaan. They would find a fresh spot of land (or cave) and begin their family. When their children took mates, they either left their childhood home and moved to one of their three bondmates conglomerates, stayed in their own and had their bondmates move in, or left to start their own conglomerate. The last option was the least common, as it was only done if there was no room left to expand conglomerates already built, or there was a family conflict. Besides, it was difficult to establish a new clan, as older, large clans would often destroy potential new rivals.

Shran was a seventh generation offspring of his clan. His sect-grandparents had founded the clan of Hvishrath. Currently his great grandparents, his shezhan's zhenun's parents, were the patriarchs and matriarchs of the Clan. The chief matriarch was his zheshaa, as she'd been the first born zhen of her parents, who'd been the clan leaders before. The clan leaders ruled the Hvishrath clan with an iron fist, as humans would say.

Despite many of his cousins, aunts and uncles all leaving the Clan to join others or form their own, Shran's conglomeration was very big, and very powerful. The Hvishrath clan had helped build this city, the captial of the Shaastheos province, and Shran's matriarchal zheshaa was a General in the Imperial Guard. His chaazh was one of the heads of the Silk Guild.

And only recently Shran had been recognised with similar importance. What a difference loosing a ship can make. It didn't matter how much he'd achieved with aliens, loosing good Andorians negated all that. Consorting with pacifist Aenar only made things worse. Which was the way it should be.

Still, Shran couldn't help but feel bitter.

Each individual family of four parents and their offspring, had their own private part of the conglomeration, the knoll. It was built upon the parents' marriage, and expanded as required. As Shran was unbonded, he still lived in the section of the house he'd grown up in, with two of his twenty nine siblings, Senkrad and Lissiel, and of course, for the past decade, his little pink-skinned daughter. Normally his parents would have lived with them, and been a dominating factor in his and Raizel's life. But Shran's four parents were dead, so his grandparents (his corat's parents) emanated their authority from their own part of the conglomeration, where they lived with Shran's continuously increasing number of relations. He'd only acquired 3 new relations-2 shen and a zhen- last month. Raizel, in a very chan-like expression of emotion, had been thrilled and cooed over them, like she did with most other children. Having met other human females, the habit made much more sense to Shran. It did not stop the elders from giving her confused and disapproving looks.

Raizel had many traits that better fitted a chan, or maybe a shen, but the human physiology did not match either, so she'd been raised as a zhen. She trained and fought with other zhens, she wore the clothing and the hair style of a zhen, and she selected bedfriends with the particulars of a zhen. But that did not surprise Shran.

Despite having a bonded zheshaa (the Clan Zhen) and shev in the conglomeration to guide her, the most influential female in Raizel's life was Lissiel, who was as zhen as one could be. Raizel did everything she could to emulate Lissiel, even styling her hair the same way and wearing the same colours.

Shran didn't think it was the best thing for her, not least because of Lissiel's violent xenophobia –not that he could talk really. But saying so always ended up causing a screaming match between father and daughter, with Raizel storming out in floods of tears. She'd come back in the mornings –usually covered in fighting/sex bruises and nothing would be said about it until Shran tried to correct the problem again.

Skinning the redbat and getting his hands cover in blue blood, Shran thought about how violent Raizel's red blood contrasted on his skin and how it had shocked him when she'd hurt herself with her Ushaan-tor for the first time. He had given it to her, with his Clan Zhen's blessing, to help induct her into the family and the Andorian culture. Not five minutes later she'd been howling in fright and pain as she slit her fingerpad open. The Clan Zhen had not been impressed.

After stripping the bones of meat, Shran broke each one apart and drained them of morrow. It was gloopy, and stank, but it was very rich in protein and it helped keep Raizel healthy, because her human physiology didn't have a strong resistance to the cold of Andoria. Not that she appreciated it when she had to eat it. Humans were such picky eaters.

When the meat, marrow, fur, and bones had all been separated, Shran put the meat and marrow in the cold storage, the fur he set aside later to tan –Lissiel needed new gloves – and the bones he put in a pot with the tubers and water and put on to steep. Nothing was wasted on Andoria. When the bones had been cooked through, they would soften enough to chew on. His teething relations would use them well.

Cleaning away the blood, Shran took the fur and set it away to work on later. Then he started cleaning the house, putting coats away in the cupboard, and gathering Senkrad's art tools that he was always leaving around, putting them in his bedroom.

Raizel's room was a complete mess, as per usual. Her clothes hid the floor, her bed was a tangled mess of silk and fur and there were dirty glasses of half drunk spirits and PADDs all over the room. Sighing, Shran gathered the glasses and cleaned them, then put them away. Next he gathered her PADDs, setting them on her desk in neat piles. Most of them were song and music sheets. Picking up one, Shran grinned as he recognised the song from the Imperial Public Archive.

"What are you doing in my room?"

Shran managed not to jump. He hadn't heard Raizel come in.

"I'm cleaning, have you become that unfamiliar with the concept?"

Raizel's face was dark with a moody pout as she stomped into the room. She restrained herself from actually yanking the PADD out of his hand, but Shran knew she wanted to.

"It's my room, I don't have to clean it if I don't want to. I've better things to do."

"Oh, like what?" Shran was in no mood for her moods.

"I'm going out. I just came home to change out of my uniform."

"And what about your assignments, don't you have some work to do?" Shran's antennae rose upwards in a gesture of warning. He'd know if she lied.

"I'll do it later!" Raizel snarled.

"You should do it now."

"I'm going out! My friends are waiting for me."

"You've been out every night this week! I don't believe you when you say you're not behind in your studies."

"What do you care? If you weren't stuck here with us you wouldn't care if I did it or not! You'd be too busy running around with _Vulcans_ and _Tellerite-pigs_. Next thing we know you'll be bowing to the Orions too!"

"Watch your tone!"

"You can't tell me what to do!"

"I am your corat!"

"So what? It's not like you ever did anything to prove it! And now you're getting the Imperial Council to tell those pink-skins about me so you can get rid of me!"

There was a ringing silence as the two stared at each other. Raizel had that familiar look of fury and tears in her eyes, and Shran was too shocked to form a response. His antennae fell as if they too had been stunned into inaction.

Then, in a flurry of clothes, Raizel picked some things up off the floor and stormed out of the house. Shran chased after her, but before he could call her back, the front door was slammed shut. If he went after her, the screaming would just continue down the street. All Raizel seemed able to do lately was scream and fight. Nothing Shran did or said got any reaction except anger from her lately.

So instead of going out the door, Shran went for the kitchen and pulled out a bottle of Andorian Ale and a glass. He paused to glance at the door again, then continued on into his room, slamming the door behind him as he went.

* * *

I hope this chapter was entertaining rather than just information heavy.

Night's Darkness


	5. Chapter 4

A big thank you to everyone who has been reviewing, it means a lot to me, especially wit this fic because I wasn't sure anyone would even look at it. So thank you so much.

I hope you enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 4**

Getting from Babel to Andoria took five days. Five days in which Archer had debated how much he should reveal to his crew. In the end, when they were a day away from Andoria, Archer called his senior staff for a meeting.

"Before we begin, I must insist that all of you acknowledge that what I'm about to tell you is a matter of secrecy. You cannot share this information with anyone, is that understood?"

They all nodded, glancing at each other in curiosity. Only Phlox and T'Pol had any idea why they were here, and all Phlox knew was what he had confirmed. He'd yet to know why he was confirming it.

"We were summoned to Babel, because the Andorian government wanted to let us in on a secret they've been keeping from us since we first encountered them. It has the potential to cause political chaos on Earth, hence why until we've a better handle on it, it has to remain secret."

Archer brought up the familiar family photo of the Andres family. In the centre of it was the chubby cheeked toddler called Raizel.

"I'm sure you all recognise this photo and the events surrounding it."

"The Andres family." muttered Trip.

"Their deaths nearly put Enterprise back a decade." said Malcolm, slightly wide eyed.

"That's right. And the disappearance of the youngest, Raizel, threatened human comfort about the existence of, and openness to, alien life." Archer turned back to his senior staff, sharing a brief glance with T'Pol whose head inclined towards him ever so slightly in encouragement. "When I was on Babel, I was told that not only is Raizel Andres alive, but she has been living on Andoria since the death of her family."

The entire senior staff sat up in surprise.

"On Andoria? But… why are we only finding out now?" asked Travis.

"And how can we be sure it's really her."

"They would be hard pressed to invent her DNA, and the analysis you gave me matches Starfleet records." said Phlox.

Archer brought up the picture Thoris had given him of Raizel Andres, putting it side by side with her family photo. Next to the grinning, chubby toddler image, the girl in the photo was hard to correspond. She looked… cold to Archer.

"Wow, she looks… pretty." said Hoshi, wide-eyed.

"And surprisingly healthy for a child that grew up on a planet which has an average winter temperature of -45°C." Phlox looked fascinated. Archer had to admit that she did look strong and healthy, if a bit pale.

"According to the records she was well cared for, and regular check-ups were maintained to ensure she remained healthy." said T'Pol, handing the medical records to Phlox.

"Wait, but, a human on Andoria must have caused a stir. I mean, why didn't Shran-"

"Shran couldn't tell us because the Andorian laws forbid it. Raizel Andres is now an official Andorian citizen, with all the protection and shielding that entails. Which is apparently a lot. Since they don't involve children in politics, they didn't let her existence interfere with our first contact and subsequent interactions. Raizel Andres has been raised as if she were an Andorian child, as Raizel Shran."

After a beat of stunned silence, Trip spoke up, "Shran? As in the Shran we've known for almost five years?"

"Yes. He adopted her when she was found. I don't know the details, but I will be demanding them from him when I meet him. Dr. Phlox, I would like you to come with me and Hoshi down to Andoria when we go to meet her. I'd like you to see her for yourself, before you accept her medical records as true."

"Of course Captain."

"Hoshi, you will be acting officially as a translator and unofficially I'd like you to try to speak with Raizel Andres alone, while I deal with Shran."

"Sure, of course." Hoshi looked thrilled at the chance.

"What's gonna happen after you meet her, cap'n?"

"It'll depend on Raizel I think, and on how the news is taken on Earth."

"It's not likely to be taken well sir." said Malcolm, his pinched face grimacing a little at the idea.

"Probably not, so we have to try and promote it the best way possible. That she's alive and well and safe. We just have to hope that's all true."

"How long will we keep this from the rest of the crew?"

"As long as we can. Starfleet doesn't want to risk it being publicised before they're ready to deal with the backlash."

"Ok. Anything else?"

"Hoshi, compile a database on the Andorian culture, we should try and meet Raizel halfway if she's been raised as an Andorian."

"A Zhen Andorian." said Phlox helpfully, as he scanned through the medical records.

"Thoris said that, what does it mean?"

"It simply means that she was raised as a specific gender."

"What's the big deal about that?" asked Trip bewildered.

T'Pol and Phlox shared a look, then T'Pol said blandly, "Andorian sexuality is complicated by the fact that they have four genders, not two."

Trip's eyebrows shot up. "Ah. I see. That never came up when we were working with them."

"A zhen is a reasonable choice, there are strong physical similarities between zhens and human females."

"Uh uh." Archer cleared his throat. "Right, so, we'll be at Andoria in a day, so, Hoshi, I'd like that database by this evening and you and Phlox need to get your winter thermals out."

Hoshi smiled, "Aye sir."

"Dismissed."

* * *

"We're entering orbit now sir."

"Good Travis. T'Pol you have the bridge. Hoshi with me."

Hoshi locked her terminal and hurried after the Captain. As the lift descended, Archer glanced at Hoshi and grinned at the obvious excitement on her face.

"You can't wait to get down there, can you?"

"No! Well, it's been so long since I've been able to work one on one like this, and in Andorian, which I find really fascinating. Because of their four genders they have extra sets of pronouns, plus age and rank and social standing can change the terminology, like in Japanese. I've never really got to practise it, because Commander Shran always speaks English, or Vulcan. I just assumed he was good at languages, especially when I heard him talking to Ambassador Gral in Tellerite, just before the Ambassador left Enterprise."

"Maybe there's an element of truth to that. I can't imagine Raizel kept up with English while living on Andoria."

"German."

"What?"

"The Andres family spoke German to their children, because her father was German and her mother was a mix of Irish, Scottish and German descent. English would have been her second language."

"Oh yeah, I remember now. So are you gonna try your German on her?"

"I doubt she'd appreciate it right now, but maybe later."

"Good point." said Archer. Hoshi threw him a grin. Archer chuckled as they proceeded to the changing room. Phlox was already there, zipping up a thermal body suit to wear under his clothes. It was the best way of staying warm on the cold planet, which was now entering the Second Intermediate period –or the Andorian version of autumn. As they dressed, Phlox spoke up,

"I've been reading up on Andorian culture. It's extremely fascinating. They live in clan conglomerations, expanding as needed –almost like an insect colony. And once they begin breeding, they don't seem to stop, unless they become Clan leaders. If that occurs, they switch off their reproductive system. Hmmm…" he chuckled, "We'll have to take care not to assume that all the children we see in Shran's conglomerate are of his generation. Some will likely be his grandaunts and uncles, not to mention every form and level of cousins."

Archer wondered if that meant Shran had to take orders from them and pressed his lips together to keep from chuckling.

"According to Andorian Laws," he said, carefully, "If we need Raizel to leave the planet, we need not just Shran's permission, but his Clan Leaders', specifically, the Clan Zhen. She's the matriarch and supreme leader over her conglomerate. If we can't get her to agree there won't be anything we can do."

"And as a Clan Zhen, she'll no doubt be aggressive and protective, as is required." said Phlox cheerfully.

"Delightful." sighed Archer, zipping up his jacket. It wouldn't surprise him if he caught Phlox taking notes while they were down there.

"We probably shouldn't get ahead of ourselves. We've no real idea how Raizel feels about all this." said Hoshi, pulling on her gloves.

"Good point. Still, it never hurts to be prepared. Right, we all set?"

"Hoshi and Phlox nodded, Hoshi clutching her portable translator, Phlox his medical scanner. "Let's go then."

* * *

More from the Andorians next chapter!

Night's Darkness


	6. Chapter 5

Thank you to everyone who is reading this fic.

Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 5**

_(Andoria, Province of Shaastheos, Zain City)_

Shran surveyed his knoll for the fiftieth time, trying to see if everything was in order. It seemed to be, except for one very obvious thing. Raizel had yet to come home after their fight. It had been three days ago. Shran could sense she was well, although the occasional intense emotion touched him and he'd had to shake it off. It was not necessary to worry about her safety. Andorian primaries were not coddled, but that did not mean they weren't guarded. Shran had known where she was at all times through various veins of communication both within and outside the conglomerate.

But with the arrival of the humans imminent, they were going to arrive by tomorrow morning, Shran had sent Senkrad out to retrieve her. As a chan, Senkrad was much calmer and had a knack for soothing Raizel's (and Shran's) temper after an explosive fight. But it irked Shran no end that his daughter was willing to listen to everyone except him.

But Shran knew it was down to him to get her under control and to make her understand he wasn't against her. Where she had gotten that idea was still baffling him.

The door chime made him jump, and he wiped his hands before answering. His three separate heart chambers nearly had a collective attack when he met the sharp eyes of his Clan Zhen, the formidable and severe General Timaul.

"Clan Zhen! Wha –I mean, come in!" Shran stepped aside. The Clan Zhen, who was almost two heads taller than her great grandson, stepped into the knoll and surveyed it with a critical eye. Shran saw her give Senkrad's artwork on the walls an unpleasant look before walking into the centre of the room. Privately Shran loved his brother's work. But the Clan Zhen was much more traditionalist.

"What do I owe the privilege Clan Zhen?" Shran was not fond of his Clan Zhen. He'd been on the receiving end of her cold stares and callous remarks many times, and he hated that Raizel was getting them now. Not to mention the… incidents when Shran was much younger.

The Clan Zhen, in her regal attire befitting her status as a Guardsman and a Matriarch, put her hands on her hips and fixed Shran with her cold eyes.

"Where is the primary?"

"She's not here Clan Zhen." Shran did not want to elaborate.

"She's not been here for three days."

Not for the first time did Shran curse the lack of privacy in Andorian families. There was no such thing as secrets in a conglomeration. That is… unless you were Shran, and that didn't tend to work in his favour.

"I know Clan Zhen, but she'll be back soon."

"You sent Senkrad to get her."

"Yes."

"Why didn't you go?"

"I'm preparing the knoll for the humans' arrival."

"Senkrad could have done that."

How was it that despite having battled Klingons, Nausicans, Vulcans and Tellerites, Shran was still intimidated by his own zheshaa? She made him feel about the size of a snowflake. But as he could never lie to her, he said nothing, refusing to admit that he could not control his own daughter.

The Clan Zhen drew herself up, and said,

"Shran, you must get that primary under control. She is in danger of damaging the Clan's name and dishonouring us."

"Clan Zhen, she is unruly and flighty, but so are all primaries her age."

"Not like this Shran." General Timaul stepped closer to Shran, staring down at him. Shran lifted his chin, baring his neck to her in proud submission. "Either you get that primary under control, or I will."

Shran's antennae stiffened in alarm. He'd first hand experience with the Clan Zhen's discipline, both as a youth and a Guardsman. She treated the two in the same way, harshly. He'd never let Raizel go through it if he could prevent it.

"I'll take care of her Clan Zhen, I swear."

"See that you do. It's bad enough she's bringing Vulcans into this conglomerate, but I will not tolerate her unruliness, her disrespect or her attitude, do you hear me?"

Shran swallowed hard. "Yes, Clan Zhen."

"Good. We just received word that the human ship will be here within the hour."

The Clan Zhen left without another word. Shran took a moment to gather himself, then promised to find out which relation had been complaining to the Clan Leaders. Only a direct complaint would have brought Clan Zhen down to this knoll. It was no secret how little Clan Zhen cared for this knoll of her conglomeration. Actually it wasn't just Clan Zhen. Shran knew many of the other knolls that made up his clan looked down on this knoll, or the 'orphan knoll' as it was called.

The door slid open again and Senkrad came in, leading Raizel by the hand.

"We saw Clan Zhen. What did she want?" asked Senkrad.

"Nothing important." said Shran.

"Oh fine! I'll get out of your way." snapped Raizel, catching Shran off guard. "Why can't you just admit she was here about me?"

Shran observed his daughter. Just by looking at her Shran could see that she had been in a fight, and that she had played. He could also smell the minerals from a geothermal pool, so he knew she'd been swimming. Her eyes were red rimmed and her face was blotchy. She'd been crying and drinking too. By all account she was a mess.

Shran sighed, "Go and clean up Raizel. The delegation from Earth and Vulcan will be here soon." His voice was calm, more disappointed than angry. But Raizel still looked affronted and with a loud huff she flounced into her room and slammed the door. Shran growled and pointed after her.

"She is turning into another Lissiel."

"Be serious!" snapped Senkrad.

"I am! How is she going to act when the humans get here with all of Lissiel's nonsense running through her head?"

"At least Lissiel has been around often enough to let her nonsense stick." muttered Senkrad, narrowing his eyes. Shran's antennae went stiff and he matched his brother's expression.

"What?"

"Let's be honest Thy'lek. You can't blame Rai-rai for latching onto Lissiel. You're never around. Even when you're here you're never around. You're never available for her."

"In case you haven't noticed Sen, every time I've tried to spend time with her it always ends in a screaming match."

"You give in too easy."

Shran's eyes widened antennae now quivering with fury. "Say that again." he growled. Senkrad stood his ground.

"You let her run away every time. You never try and understand why she's so argumentative."

"Oh please enlighten me."

"I can't because I don't know. But I am not her corat. You are."

"I know that!" snapped Shran, shoving his face into his brother's.

"Then stop acting like a commander and start acting like her corat. You might be terrified of loosing her, but she is far more frightened."

This was why Shran hated arguing with Senkrad. His brother always had something to shut him up with. And he was usually right. Fuming Shran snapped his mouth shut and glared at Senkrad who gave a kind smile and abruptly hugged him. As he let go, he shoved him towards Raizel's door, watching expectantly. Shran sighed and rapped his knuckles on the door three times before pushing it open and going inside.

"Go away!" snapped Raizel. She clearly had just finished washing. She was wrapped in a big absorbent robe, and her wet hair was all tangled around her shoulders. Purple bruises and a crimson cut on her lip stood out on her ice white skin. Her small med-kit was in her lap and she was sitting on her bed. Shran gave a soft sigh and moved to her. "I said go away!" she shrieked.

Shran ignored her words. He took the kit out of her hands and opened it. Then he drew the stool from her desk and sat down in front of her. Raizel was watching him warily, a large pout on her lips. She had a cut above her eye too, so Shran started with that. As he cleaned it, he asked,

"Who did you fight with?"

"Jelik." Raizel growled, "I told her to keep her mouth shut and she didn't."

"So you started the fight?"

"No! She was the one saying stuff."

"What was she saying?"

"Just stuff." Raizel mumbled as Shran took out the dermal regenerator. It was a standard family one, just able to seal small cuts, provided they weren't too deep. He used it to close the cut and heal it so it was a faded scar. Then he moved to her lip.

"What else did you do? You couldn't have been fighting all that time."

"Singing, storytelling." Her green eyes were watching him with a guarded expression.

"Any good stories?" Shran was determined to keep her talking.

"The one about Ice and Rock battling the spirits and being rendered immovable. And that one about the burning internal fire."

"Ah, that's one the Klingons like. At least, the Klingons I've met."

"Really?" A spark of curiosity flared in her eyes. Shran smiled as he sealed the cut on her lip.

"Oh yes. They say it is a story worthy of Kahless."

"Is that good?"

"Very good." assured Shran, moving to the bruises. "Now it is true I had to get them very drunk to admit it-"

"And how drunk did you get?" she cut in coldly.

"Truthfully?" Shran leaned in conspiratorially. Against her judgement, Raizel leaned in too. Shran smirked, "I don't remember. What I do remember is waking up in a tropical jungle, half my clothes gone, my pelvis broken and a Klingon female snoring in my ear."

Despite herself, Raizel laughed, "How'd you break your pelvis?"

"We never found out." said Shran shaking his head.

"Who was the female?"

"Ah, now that slightly more awkward. She was to be married to my friend Klaang and he really wasn't pleased with me-"

"I'll bet."

"The strange thing was we never understood where she'd come from. She was meant to be on Qo'noS. How she somehow joined us outside the Klingon boarder I cannot fathom."

"Is that why you refused to buy bloodwine?"

"That, and nine other incidents very like it. After a tenth anything you really should learn." Shran's smirk widened.

Raizel giggled. Shran's smirk melted into a smile. He made the bruises fade away and then asked, "Any others?"

Looking bashful, Raizel shifted slightly and moved her towel to show her ribcage. Shran bent closer to look. His antennae rose in surprise and he looked at his daughter who smirked,

"He went glowy on me."

Shran gave a startled laugh. "Oh did he? Well!" He looked at the bite marks all over her ribcage again. "Well done my girl. I can't remember the last time I got someone glowy on me."

"Corat, I'd be amazed if you did." said Raizel smirk widening.

"Oh? And why is that?" said Shran in mock insult.

"Because you're old." she said as if it was obvious.

"I'm not that old!" Now he was a little insulted.

"Corat, you're eighty-three. I'm fifteen, you're old to me."

Shran gave her a narrow-eyed look and tapped her nose with the dermal regenerator.

"Careful." he warned. Raizel rolled her eyes.

"Well, you're too old to have sex with Primaries, and they're the only ones who can glowy."

Shran considered this as he got rid of the bite marks. "Well, you may have a point there."

Raizel looked triumphant as Shran sat back.

"Anymore?"

"Just my hands." She held them up. Her palms had been bitten and torn, and her knuckles were bruised and scratched. Shran sighed, shaking his head.

"You really need to be more careful if you throw punches. You got her in the mouth, didn't you?"

"Yes." Raizel flushed, "I meant to catch her throat. But she ducked and I hit her teeth. But it wasn't her who bit me."

"I can see that, you got nipped by a Goower, didn't you?"

"Yup."

"You shouldn't go near their nests when you're swimming." he scolded, wiping the cuts and then gently pulled a small tooth out of the skin. When he was done, he said, "There's a new royal dress for you to wear today, and Senkrad promised to help with your hair. I'm going to change myself. But if you need me-"

"Got it." she said brusquely, the sparkle in her eyes was gone. Shran caught her hand before she could move away.

"Raizel look at me." he ordered. She obeyed. "This is just a meeting. You won't be going anywhere today."

"What about tomorrow?"

"You're under the protection of the Andorii. If you don't want to, you don't have to. Understand?"

Swallowing, she nodded. Shran nodded and then rubbed his brow against hers. She gave a weak smile, and drew in a steadying breath.

"All right." she got to her feet, and moved to the wardrobe. Shran got to his own feet and pushed the stool back to the desk. He put away the med-kit and left the room as Raizel started to dress.

Senkrad was sketching a short distance from the door. A piece of woven, dried tuber root was stretched out in a frame which he held in one hand, and the fingers of his other hand were covered in black paste.

"Clean yourself up. Raizel will kill you if you get that stuff in her hair."

"You don't really believe that everything will be fine now that you and her have had a conversation, do you?"

"No. But it's something."

"Just checking."

"I'm going to change. Don't leave a mess."

"I won't, I won't." Senkrad waved him away. A dollop of paste landed on the white floor. Shran rolled his eyes and moved to his own room. He shut the door with a sigh and rested against it for a moment. His eyes skimmed the room, it was more of a mess than Raizel's at her worst. The most prominent feature was the huge numbers of empty and half-empty bottles of alcohol that were spread out across the room. Shran swallowed and grabbed a bottle of blue liquid and drank down a large mouthful. He wiped his lips, set the bottle down and moved to get dressed.

* * *

Reviews are always appreciated.

Night's Darkness


	7. Chapter 6

At last Archer meets Raizel… wonder how this is gonna go, lol.

Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter**** 6**

_(Andoria, Shaastheos Province, Surface Ice)_

"Good God!" Archer hurried to tug his jacket tighter around his neck and pull up his hood. They'd landed in freezing winds, whose icy fingers clawed at his bones at once. How had a little girl ever survived on this planet?

Despite the wind, everything was pretty clear and the first thing Archer saw was the great Gas Giant, which was known as Andor to most aliens. The Andorians had their own name and mythology about it and they possessed a suitable reverence for that which allowed life to spring up. For, despite orbiting a blue supergiant, it was not the sun that was the source of life on the ice moon known best as Andoria. It was the gas giant and, from what Archer had learned, the Andorians were instinctively aware of it.

The moon's iron core was in constant flux due to the sheer gravitational pull of the gas giant, which generated heat and had resulted in geothermal springs, from which all Andoria's life seemed to spring.

This information flickered in the back of Archer's mind as he admired the aquamarine and baby blue colours shimmering over the Andor. Andoria in turn was bright, clean and beautiful with huge cathedrals of ice looming over cracked plains of glaciers. Animals, a huge herd of quadrupeds, were wandering some distance away.

"Ah! Zabathu." said Phlox, spying the animals. "One of the top predators on Andoria."

"Predators?" asked Hoshi, sounding unnerved.

"Don't worry, they're too far away Ensign." said the Doctor, beaming.

There was a faint buzz nearby and Soval appeared before them in a haze of red and purple.

"Captain." he greeted.

"Ambassador." Archer inclined his head. He'd never seen the Vulcan so heavily dressed. But he reminded himself that Earth was cooler than Vulcan, so for Soval the cold was no doubt even more pronounced. Soval pulled the hood of his coat over his head.

"Ambassador Thoris should be with us momentarily."

"Are they taking a shuttle?"

"I believe they have achieved transporters technology sufficient to use on the Ambassador."

"Let's hope it-"

Another buzzing was heard and they looked around. Blue and aquamarine light revealed the Ambassador and his aid. It took longer for their transport to complete than for the others, but they came out of it whole and unbothered by the cold. If anything it seemed to delight them to feel the cold air on their skin. Thoris smiled to himself and turned to the small party.

"Come Captain, we shall go down to the city. The Hvishrath Clan awaits."

Archer nodded and they followed the Andorian over the ice. They entered a tunnel of ice and moved downwards in a large spiral of cut out steps. Sunlight from above made the ice glow blue and white. Despite the ice, everything was dry, probably due to how cold it was. At last they emerged into the city.

The first word that came to Archer was 'organic'. The second was 'hive'. All the buildings were like collections of cells, climbing up the side of the caves. Bridges interconnected them all, with smaller cells gathered in clusters, which may have been a communal area, like shops and taverns, in the centre. The larger, denser conglomerations were at the edges and Archer deduced that they were the homes of Clans.

Thoris pointed at the largest of these, "That is our destination. Follow me."

They descended some metal steps, which gave way to stone and then onto a bridge, which they crossed, going into the heart of the city. Archer glanced around with interest, but his eyes kept being drawn to the Conglomeration they were heading towards. It seemed to dominate the city, like a great over-lord. The idea of a little girl living inside it disturbed Archer in a way he not too familiar with. He also wondered what it had been like for Shran, growing up in such a large shadow. The part of him that considered Shran a friend hoped that Shran's achievements were not overshadowed by what was obviously a powerful family.

The foreboding feeling only grew as they drew nearer.

"How many could live in such a conglomeration?" asked Phlox.

"Last I heard there are 287 people living in this one house, including the human female." said Thoris as they took the final bridge straight.

"287?" repeated Archer in shock.

"That is quite normal for an Andorian Clan. It is worth remembering that there about seven generations in that conglomeration."

"…oh." Archer tried to imagine growing up surrounded by so many. He'd been an only child with four cousins. Such numbers were hard to imagine and hurt his head.

The door to the building was huge, made of a dark metal that put Archer in of a petroleum rainbow by the way it shimmered in the soft light. The edges were engraved with a design that was similar to what Archer had seen on the Kumari. There was also something near the top written in Andori script with a crest underneath. Archer glanced at Hoshi silently asking for a translation.

"It says 'The Mighty Hiv'shrath Clan extends opulent greetings to those who are strong of will.'" she said in an undertone as Ambassador Thoris knocked on the door four times with the flat of his hand. There was a loud echoing boom that seemed to reverberate through the conglomerate all the way to the top and rolled down to the bottom. Then there was a long pause as they waited, silent. Then the doors swung open, revealing a long corridor, dimly lit and arching above their heads. Standing at the doors was an Andorians, who appeared to be 'male', although Archer did not dare make a guess beyond that now that he was aware of the four genders. This Andorian was tall, slim, so unlike short, stocky Shran that it was hard to believe they were related. He was also older, older than Thoris even, with a heavily lined face, cold brown eyes and blue speckles in his yellow-white hair.

"Greetings from beyond the Clan. I am of the Imperial Council." said Thoris in a surprisingly soft voice. His eyes were on the ground, head bowed and his hands were palm up. Archer was surprised by the submissive gesture but the man nodded in acceptance and turned around without saying a word. Thoris followed him, Soval then gestured to the others to do the same. The doors swung shut behind them with a muffled thump.

As they moved down the corridor, Archer noticed that was lined on either side with alcoves, and in each alcove was a statue of purple granite. Each was of a person, holding a candle in one cupped hand, while the other held some item of obvious significance, mostly weapons. The first few were clean, but seemed archaic, and they seemed to become more modern the further down they went. A few of the statues had similar features to Shran, which was a little disconcerting. It was like having an army of Shrans glaring down at him.

At the end of the corridor they came to four doors, two on either side of a huge, long staircase, going up. They ascended the stairs and Archer noticed doors on either side of the stairs appearing as they went up and up and up –Archer was beginning to wonder where the stairs ended.

As it turned out it took about five minutes at a steady pace to reach the top. No one had spoken and no one else had appeared. For a building that held 287 lives it was silent as a tomb. But at last they reached a door, rather like a smaller copy of the front door. Their 'guide' knocked four times and then turned and started walking down the stairs again. Since Thoris did not react, Archer could only assume this was all normal. The doors swung open and Archer had to focus on the task at hand.

They entered a grand circular hall. It was like an amphitheatre, with seats moving upwards, a white dome looming above with a painting of the gas giant glittering at them, a black floor and ice blue walls fading into white as they went up. There was a large circular table in the centre and seated at the table were five people. The first one Archer saw was on the far left. Shran. He was in formal black and blue silk garments and looked… odd. Archer could not put his finger on what was off about his friend, but it was not something good.

The others were undoubtedly the Clan Leaders. All four of them were stiff-backed, severe and that mix of very old and very strong looking that Archer had always associated with Vulcans. A sash of electric red cut across the chest of each Clan Leader, from the right shoulder to the left hip. Their chairs looked more like thrones and the hair on Archer's neck stood on end.

As the alien group entered, Shran got to his feet. The Clan Leaders remained seated. Looking at the 'female' in the middle Archer felt that hot lava would not make her rise to her feet. Her dark eyes and severe expression made Archer pretty sure she was the Clan Zhen. Phlox had said she would be the most intimidating of all the Clan Leaders and Archer did not want to consider the idea that anyone could be more intimidating than the person before him.

"We greet you with much respect and submission Clan Leaders of this most prestigious conglomeration. You honour us with your welcome." said Thoris, bowing deeper than before. Archer was pretty sure Shran was itching to roll his eyes at the 'welcome'. "This is Captain Archer, he speaks for his people." Archer mimicked Thoris' bow. "Ambassador Soval, speaking for his people of Vulcan, and Doctor Phlox and Ensign Sato of Captain Archer's ship, the Enterprise." Soval, Phlox and Hoshi bowed.

"I am Clan Zhen Timaul." said the one in the middle. Archer was pleased to see he'd guessed right. "This is Clan Shen Aresa-" The Andorian at Timaul's left, "Clan Chan Narion-" The Andorian on Aresa's other side, "And Clan Thaan Th'nack." He sat between Timaul and Shran. "And Shran, one of our secondaries."

Shran nodded and sat down again. Archer wondered what a secondary was.

Clan Zhen Timaul gestured to the seats opposite her and her family members, "Sit."

Archer obeyed, slightly startled at his knee jerk reaction to do as she told him. This was a person used to being obeyed. They would have be careful dealing with her. Thoris sat next to Archer and met his eyes for a second. Archer realised it was up to him, not Thoris, to pull this off. When the Clan Leaders said nothing, Archer spoke, clearing his throat,

"Thank you for allowing this meeting."

"We have never had a Vulcan in this Conglomerate." murmured Clan Thaan Th'nack, his eyes narrowed at Soval. Out of the corner of his eye Archer saw Shran's antenna twitch just a little.

"I would imagine that this will be considered a historic moment." said Archer carefully. It was clear that the Clan Leaders did not agree. Glancing at Shran, Archer saw how tense his face was. Archer decided to bite the bullet and said,

"Well we all know why we are here. You have been raising a human child here in your household and we would like to meet her."

"For what purpose?" asked Timaul.

"At the moment we would just like to meet her, speak with her. We would like to ensure she is… healthy."

"We do not harm offspring." snapped Aresa.

"Then what is the harm of letting me see that and tell my people such? My people will be uneasy when this news is broken, Raizel's disappearance caused much panic. Anything that will make it clear that she is well is a very good thing."

Timaul's eyes narrowed and snapped to Shran accusingly. The moment her eyes landed on him, Shran's eyes leapt up to study the painting above them as if it was fascinating. Archer was not pleased at his apparent blasé attitude.

"After you meet the primary, what then?" asked Aresa as her mate (wife?) continued to glare at Shran.

"It's unclear. But she might need to come back to Earth, if only to show she is well."

"You want to put her on display?" asked Shran sharply, looking at Archer. But before Archer could respond, all four Clan Leader's heads snapped around to look at Shran, furious glares focusing on him like lasers.

"How dare you speak without permission!" spat Timaul through clenched teeth. Shran ducked his head and dropped his eyes onto the table. The four Clan Leaders slowly relaxed again and turned back to Archer who was trying not to gape at the slap down.

"Captain, if the primary is to go to Earth, how would she be treated?" asked Clan Chan Narion.

"As a guest of Starfleet, she would be treated with great respect. But I don't know exactly what would happen. It will depend on public reaction. And of course, her biological family members will want to meet her."

"I see." said Timaul. Archer had a nasty feeling she was not concerned about Raizel so much as her Clan's reputation.

The four Clan Leaders shared a long look, their antennae twitching as they seemed to have a silent conversation. Shran was now slouching in his seat, an action that was very childish looking. Then the Clan Leaders looked at Archer and Timaul said, lifting her regal head,

"Very well Captain, you may meet the zhen primary. Shran-" Shran jumped to his feet, his antennae flushing at the base, "Bring our… _guests_ to your knoll and show them the zhen primary."

Shran nodded, but did not move. Thoris rose to his feet and Archer did the same. Only when Phlox, Hoshi and Soval got up did the Clan Leaders stand and file out, Clan Zhen Timaul in front. The door banged shut, the sound ringing in the room. It seemed that the room warmed as they left. Shran let out a heavy sigh and said,

"Follow me." He moved out of the room without looking back.

The group followed his and moved down the stairs. Why did the house seem more alive now? Noise seemed to be coming from all around and there were voices and footsteps echoing over the walls. About six doors down, the door on the right burst open and a small naked child came running out, passed before them and threw open the door opposite, disappearing in a blur. A second behind him, a taller, older child came running after the first, long hair billowing behind her. She did not seem to notice the aliens in her home, or she did not care. Shran did not break his stride, moving to the ninth door on the left and pushing it open. They entered into a large room. It was brighter than the other room they had been in, with leather and fur covered seats set in a big circle. Large paintings decorated the walls, beside many Ushaan hanging from hooks and a Klingon bat'leth.

Seated on a long, low couch was a male who looked up from his reading as they entered and smiled in welcome.

"Where's Raizel?" asked Shran without introductions and without preamble. He did not appear to be in a good mood.

"Rai-Rai's in her room." the other male answered, rising to his feet. "I'm Senkrad, Shran's older chanta. Welcome to our knoll."

"Jonathon Archer. This is Ambassador Soval, Hoshi Sato, Doctor Phlox and Ambassador Thoris."

"Welcome, please sit. Would you like a drink?"

"Please."

Shran, meanwhile, had removed his outer shirt and put it away in another room and was now knocking on yet another door.

"Raizel. Out please." he called, moving away to help his chanta. Archer could only hope that chanta meant brother and wished he'd brushed up on Andorian terminology before he'd arrived.

As Senkrad moved to pass around glasses full of blue ale, Shran returned to the door and knocked again, saying a little more sharply, "Raizel!"

"She's not gone out the window has she?" asked Senkrad airily. Archer's eyes widened at the idea, they were still pretty high up in the conglomerate. But the door opened very slowly and finally Raizel Andreas emerged, looking sullen and pale. Archer could not help but compare her to an ice princess. She looked cold and regal in a long heavy dress/robe of black silk and metallic turquoise designs, like Shran's. Her white blonde hair was loose, strung with jewels that glittered in the light. She looked older than fifteen, but there was still a petulance in her pout that hinted at her youth.

"I'm here." she said, lifting her chin as she looked at her father. Shran nodded with satisfaction and placed a hand on her shoulder, stepping sideways to face the guests.

"This is my daughter Raizel of the Hvishrath Clan. Raizel, this is Captain Archer, Ensign Sato, Doctor Phlox, Ambassador Thoris and Ambassador Soval."

"A Vulcan." said Raizel, looking Soval up and down with an air of contempt. Shran said nothing, but Archer was sure he saw him squeeze her shoulder a little.

Archer got to his feet and smiled at her. "It's good to meet you Raizel." he held out his hand to her, but she frowned at it.

"It's how humans greet each other." said Shran, "You take his hand and shake it."

"Oh." Raizel looked like the idea was distasteful to her. But she held her hand out and slipped it into Archer's. He was surprised, not only by the strength of her grip, but by the feel of rough calluses on her hand. "Hello Captain." she said in that same cold voice. Archer knew he was unwelcome.

"Call me Jon. A little informality won't go amiss."

"If you say so, Captain."

Shran's lips twitched in something that was probably amusement. Archer smiled and gestured to Hoshi,

"This is Hoshi, she's the ships linguist."

Hoshi smiled and greeted Raizel in Andorian. Raizel raised an eyebrow at her, and inclined her head to her gracefully.

"Why don't we sit down?" asked Senkrad, gesturing to the seats and holding his hand out. Raizel hesitated, and then moved to join him, with Shran following. Raizel swept up her dress and knelt on the couch, reclining back and spreading her dress out over her legs again. With one elbow resting on the back of the seat, her body turned to the side, she looked like some sort of femme fatale, which bothered Archer at once. She was only fifteen, but carried herself with that same arrogance and confidence as all the Andorian females he had met, that almost sexual undertone of her stance worrying him.

"So…" said Senkrad slowly, looking from one person to another. He glanced at his brother, and Shran rested one arm on the back of the couch, reclining back with much the same confidence his daughter showed.

"How have things been Captain? I heard a rumour you had an encounter with the Orions." Shran said after another moment. Archer nodded, grateful for the change in topic. Although he did wonder how the heck Shran had heard about that.

"We did. Three females tried to take over the ship."

"Ah… and do humans feel the affects of their pheromones?"

"We, erm, we did." Archer felt colour rising in his cheeks. Shran let out a bark of laughter.

"Oh dear, sounds like you were a slow in realising this."

"We didn't know."

"You mean you couldn't smell it? Spirits, we can smell them two rooms away." Shran looked very amused.

"Yes, well… it was unexpected."

"You did not realise the green skins were liars and thieves?" asked Raizel, lips curling in a sneer. The tension in the room increased a little.

"We're always willing to give people a chance." said Archer carefully. Raizel rolled her eyes and turned her head away. Shran seemed to nudge her and she threw him a glare. Shran tilted his head to the guests and Raizel huffed to herself.

"Tell me Captain," she said, almost commanded, "Is it true that your government is attempting to create a Coalition of Planets?"

"Yes it is, negotiations are set to start in a few months."

"I understand it includes the Coridians."

"You're well informed."

Raizel was unmoved by the praise. "I am of the next generation. It is my duty to know what my predecessors do, so I can enter secondary stage with open eyes and sharpened wits."

Phlox hummed to himself. Raizel's eyes snapped to his face.

"You are a Denobulan."

"I am. I am also the Enterprise's Medical Officer."

"Then you were the man to repair my corat after that underhanded tactic of the Captian's during the Usshan." Raizel's voice was razor sharp as she spoke. Shran gave a tiny grimace and looked away.

"I fail to see the need for such hostile tones." said Soval pointedly. Raizel's eyes flashed,

"You Vulcans do not see the need for any emotions, soulless as you are. I will not be dictated to by you."

"But you will be dictated to by me if needs be!" snapped Shran, "And I am telling you to show some respect."

"Why? Why should I be polite to unwanted intruders in this knoll? I do not want them here. They are only here because they don't want to put their precious Coalition in danger-"

"That's not it." said Archer quickly, but Raizel rounded on him, fury colouring her face a delicate pink.

"Do not lie to me!"

"Alright, I won't." said Archer, catching her off guard. "It is true that this could affect the Coalition. But that is not the whole of it." He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "Raizel, you have family back on Earth who would dearly-"

"This is my family." snapped Raizel, rising to her feet. "I am a member of this Clan and no other. I am Shran's daughter and no one else's. These people you speak of are nothing to me. And furthermore, I have no desire to meet them, or anyone else from Earth and I never will, so you can leave now because you are wasting your time!" With that said Raizel Shran strode to the entrance and stormed out of the knoll, ignoring her father's shouts to come back. Shran jumped to his feet and glanced at his brother, who pointed at the door.

"Go after her, I will tend to our guests until you bring her back. And for goodness sake bring her coat!"

Shran nodded and grabbed two coats as he ran out the door, leaving a ringing silence behind. Archer had no idea what to say, Hoshi's mouth was hanging open, Thoris' antennae were splayed and stiff, and Soval's eyebrow was arched high. Phlox chuckled,

"She's quite high-strung."

Senkrad snorted, "That was a calm Raizel. I'm afraid she can be far worse than that."

"I take it then that coming back another day will not help?" said Soval dryly.

"Doubtful. This is… difficult for her, and these past few months have not been easy for any of us."

"Humans tend to have violent mood swings at Raizel's age." said Phlox.

"From a hormonal imbalance?"

"Yes."

"Ah, as we thought. Her doctors did believe it was natural, but we weren't sure. Human growth is unknown to us."

"But you classified her as a primary anyway?"

Senkrad shrugged, "What else could we do? She is not a child by our standards, and all her classmates were entering primary puberty. She herself was convinced she was as well so…" he shrugged.

"Well, she has clearly entered puberty, she would have started about three or four years ago."

"Sounds about right. That was when she-"

"Maybe you should talk about this in private." said Hoshi quickly, looking embarrassed on Raizel's behalf. Phlox nodded,

"Of course, you're right. I will need to examine her myself at any rate."

"I'll say it to my brother when he returns." said Senkrad.

"Thank you."

They lapsed into silence, during which Archer drained his glass. Then, for lack of other topics, he asked,

"Who owns the bat'leth on the wall?"

"Senkrad glanced at it and grinned. "Shran. A gift from a Klingon friend."

"Ah." Archer hid his surprise that Shran had any alien friends, let alone a Klingon one.

"You have encountered Klingons?"

"Oh yes."

Senkrad chuckled at Archer's tone.

* * *

Thoughts and comments are always appreciated.

Night's Darkness


	8. Chapter 7

So sorry for the delay in posting, I got caught up in an old angry plotbunny, and real life stepped up too.

**Warning:** This chapter discusses the idea of the 'age of consent', which may offend or upset some people.

Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 7**

_(Andoria, Shaastheos Province, Zain City) _

"Raizel come back here!"

"Leave me alone!"

"You just declared yourself my daughter. Are you now denying it by not obeying me?"

That made Raizel stop. She did not turn around, but stood there, clenching and unclenching her fists. Shran caught up to her and put her coat over her shoulders, trying not to do it roughly. He was unsurprised to see angry tears running down her cheeks. Sniffing hard, she pouted up at her father.

"I'm your daughter."

Shran felt his anger fade and he smiled at her,

"Yes, yes you are. You are my daughter, and that won't change, not even if you have living family."

"They are not my family! They are not!"

Placing his hands on her shoulders, Shran pressed his lips to her brow and murmured,

"They are your blood. They are your family as much as we are."

"I don't care. I don't want to meet them."

"I won't make you. But Raizel, you cannot run away from this. Have you not been taught to face challenges? To be strong in the face of difficulty?"

Looking miserable, Raizel nodded. Shran pulled back to stare her in the face, to meet her eyes.

"I'm sorry this is so difficult, but we must deal with this. And we must deal with it properly. You cannot keep loosing your temper like this, no matter how hard it is to stay in control."

"I am not a Vulcan!"

"And I am not telling you to be one. But that does not mean you can just act how you want. You are a primary, you are not a youth. Act like one."

"Now you sound like the Clan Zhen."

Shran managed not to wince at the idea. "The Clan Zhen is right. We have a duty to our Clan, to our Knoll, to ourselves to be controlled, dignified and strong."

Raizel nodded, reaching up to wipe her eyes. "Very well. I will… try to behave appropriately."

Shran nodded, "Good."

"If you do something in turn."

His antennae quirked forward. "Oh?"

Raizel squared her shoulders and set her jaw, "I want you to promise me you'll stop getting drunk."

Shran narrowed his eyes at her, antennae curling inwards. Swallowing, Raizel said, "If I am to control my behaviour, then you ought to do the same." Her small hand slipped into his. "Please, corat. Promise me."

The fact that Shran had to pause to debate the issue was what made him agree. He refused to become a drunk.

"I promise. Of course I do."

Raizel smiled and Shran felt her fully relax. He leaned in and rubbed his brow against hers.

"Shall we go back?"

"Can we take our time?"

"We don't have to rush, but we will not be going slowly either, fair enough?"

"I suppose so."

"Good. Let's go."

They walked back towards the conglomeration, Shran keeping his hand on the back of Raizel's neck. She was taking deep breaths, and the angry pink was leaving her cheeks. Shran felt a large measure of relief as he saw her regain some stability, but he worried it would not last. And he had no idea how he would control it. He knew being a parent was not the same as being a commanding officer, but that did not exclude the need to punish for misbehaviour. The difficulty was that now she was a primary, it was up to the collaboration to take her into hand, more than him. Repressing a sigh, Shran pushed the door open and together they went back inside.

They moved quickly and quietly, neither wanting to draw unwelcome attention from another knoll. Thankfully there were very few people in the conglomerate at this time of the day. At the door of their knoll, Shran turned her to him again and he wiped her face, and pulled her head under his chin, rubbing against her head. Raizel relaxed against him as the familiar scent of his pheromones filled her nose. It was reassuring that her corat was marking her out as his child.

Pulling back Raizel took a deep breath and turned back to the door, opening it and walking back into the room, Shran following. They both put their coats away and then Raizel turned to face the guests. Her face flushed a delicate pink and she clenched her fists as she said, "I apologise for my behaviour. It was not appropriate for a primary."

"It's fine." said Archer quickly, looking relieved. "I understand that this is very… upsetting for you."

Raziel and Shran both bit their tongues to restrain a sarcastic retort. The shared action did not escape notice. Together they walked back to the couch and sat down. Dr. Phlox sat forward and said,

"I'm curious, how have you managed to be so resistant to the cold? It cannot have been easy to adapt to the freezing temperatures like those found here."

"I stay warm by wrapping up. My clothing is insulated by Imperial Issue material that increases the body temperature."

"Her diet is also high in protein and fat." added Senkrad, gesturing at the kitchen.

"What about when it gets to -45 degrees?"

"The caves stay warm, they have never been so cold." said Shran as if that were obvious.

"If it gets too cold for me, I just go swimming in the geothermal pools." said Raizel, looking irritated at having to explain how she dealt with her own weaknesses.

"So you like swimming?" asked Hoshi, smiling at her.

"All primaries do."

"What else do you like to do?"

Raizel shrugged, "I suppose I like fighting, dancing, singing… but I'm a primary, that is what we do."

"As I understand it, primaries are the ones who preserve and stimulate the culture. They also partake in the rituals of religion." said Soval carefully.

"Outside of family duties, yes. I would not presume to be the one who performed a First or Last Waltz."

"I'm sorry, I'm going to have to show myself as ignorant. What exactly is a primary?" asked Hoshi, looking embarrassed. Archer mentally thanked her for asking what he could not.

"There are six stages in an Andorian life. First is Infancy, which lasts from the time you are born until the time when your genitalia become visible," explained Shran with surprising patience, "Then you are a Youth, your gender is known and you begin your proper schooling. Once First Puberty occurs, you become a Primary. After Second Puberty you're a Secondary. You remain a Secondary until you take a mate, at which point you become an Active, then if you live long enough you could become a Clan Leader, and thus become Inactive."

"So being a primary… what does that mean?"

"It means you are capable of play, but not bondage." said Raizel.

"Play?"

"Andorians are infertile until they take lifemates, and Primaries cannot become fertile, only Secondaries can. You need to have gone through second puberty to have the ability to bond. So primaries only play." Thoris explained.

"But what is play?"

"Is play how you describe sexual interactions without the risk of impregnation?" asked Phlox, eyes wide with fascination.

"Exactly." said Senkrad, "Primaries play to establish dominance, to build their social structures, Secondaries play to test out who would suit as a lifemate –and of course have fun. But of course there is more to play than just sexual interactions. Most activities primaries do fall under play."

Archer glanced at Raizel, feeling very alarmed. She was only fifteen. If she had been… 'playing', Earth would go ballistic.

"So, you like to dance and sing Raizel?" asked Hoshi, clearly sensing the topic needed changing. Raizel nodded, pulling at her sleeve. "Do you like school?"

"I'm not in school anymore."

"Oh."

"Primaries leave school to pursue their own interests and studies, they have the basic education, and they have six languages or more in their skill, and then it is up to them to find out what their role will be."

"Six languages?" repeated Hoshi, looking excited. "What languages do you learn?"

"Traditionally, we learnt different Andorian languages, but now the schools teach alien languages, like Vulcan, Tellerite, Orion, Betazed, and Human now. We also learn the proto-Andori language, to remind us about where we come from." explained Shran.

"Wow, so which can you speak?" asked Hoshi to Raizel.

"Vulcan, Tellerite, Orion, Betazed, Klingonese, proto-Andori, and corat has me learning Human."

Archer glanced at Shran, whose antennae seemed to shrug at him. His eyes were on his daughter, watching her carefully.

"Well… maybe I can practise with you, I'm always looking to practise my languages." said Hoshi hopefully. Raizel shrugged, now pulling at her fingers. An uncomfortable silence fell over them all. Shran was watching his daughter, Senkrad was watching his brother and niece. Archer wracked his brain for something to say. Phlox coughed and said,

"Miss Raizel, would you mind if I took a few scans of you? I'm very curious about how your body has adapted to the Andor environment."

Raizel narrowed her eyes at him. Senkrad's antennae twitched,

"Rai-rai doesn't like doctors." he said gently, "She's spent far too much time with them so we could make sure she was always healthy."

"Well then, perhaps I could have your medical history?"

Raizel shrugged, "If you like."

"Thank you."

Another silence fell and this time it was Shran who broke it, "I think that's enough for now. There's no rush for anything, is there captain?"

"No, not really." said Archer carefully.

"If that's all then." said Raizel, getting to her feet, "I promised my friends I would meet them." She glanced at Shran who considered it for a moment before nodding,

"If our guests have no objections."

Archer would have liked to give Hoshi a chance to talk to the girl alone, but it was clear Raizel did not want to stay any longer and he supposed they would have time later. So he nodded,

"It's fine by us. No sense in rushing."

Raizel nodded and then touched her brow with her fingertips in some sort of salute, before departing, taking her coat with her. Senkrad sighed in relief.

"That went well."

"Mmm." mumbled Shran, scratching his head and looking weary.

"Captain I can accompany you to the surface again." said Thoris rising to his feet. Archer glanced at Shran, catching his eye, and the other man gave a small nod.

"You take the others Ambassador, the captain and I need to talk."

"Very well." said Thoris. Senkrad showed him and the others to the door, while Shran and Archer stared at each other. They were waiting for the other man to speak first. Senkrad disappeared into another room, leaving them alone.

At last, Shran sighed and rose to his feet. "Come on then, let me have it."

Archer was a little surprised at his words. "Say again?"

"Admit it, you want to vent yourself at me. You may as well get it done now, after which we can pretend to be proper again." sighed Shran, looking tired.

"I… Ok, I'll admit when I found out I was fully prepared to knock you on your ass. But I've been reading up on Andorian culture. You really didn't have a choice in the matter, did you?"

Shran shook his head, "No. My people's laws are clear. But we both know I could have subverted them and told you anyway."

"Do you want me to punch you?"

"I want you to admit your anger so we can move past it. There will be enough problems in the future without you repressing your temper."

Archer rolled his eyes, "Strange as this may sound Shran, I don't want to punch you. Not this time."

Shran's antenna cocked forward in a dubious gesture. "Have it your way pink-skin."

"What you could do is tell me about when you found her, if you figured out who killed them… and how you, of all people, came to adopt her."

Shran sighed again, but this time it was more thoughtful. "I think we'll need something stronger to drink. I've been hiding the really strong ale from Raizel, she hasn't the tolerance for it."

"On earth she wouldn't be legally allowed to drink at her age."

"Something tells me you'll be saying that sort of thing a lot in the near future."

"I hate to say it… but our cultures may be irreconcilably different."

"I saw the way you reacted to our explanation of play."

"Oh I really don't want to think about that."

"Well perhaps you could still explain the issue to me." said Shran in a deliberately polite voice. Archer sighed and accepted the offered ale.

"Ok… basically on Earth we have what is known as 'the age of consent'. It's the age you have to be or over to be legally –and mentally- mature enough to agree to have sex. Raizel is well under this limit."

"How under?" asked Shran, antennae moving backwards.

"She's fifteen now… and well it depends on where you come from, but in America, the age is between eighteen and twenty-one depending on which state you're in."

"That's six years…"

"In other countries it's sixteen." Archer said, trying to reassure the man.

"What would it be for Raizel then?"

"Well I'm not sure… she was born in space. But her parents were legally German, so if we say she's German by nationality and… I honestly don't know what Germany's age of consent is. Actually, Phlox would probably know, I'll ask him."

Archer pulled out his communicator, "Archer to Phlox."

"_Phlox here Captain."_

"Doctor, do you by any chance know the age of consent for Germans?"

"_I was about to look that up as soon as I arrived back on Enterprise. To my recollection the law says fourteen, but I cannot be certain. I will contact you as soon as I know."_

"Thanks Doc."

Archer saw the relief on Shran's face as the Andorian said, "So it may not have hurt her?"

Archer blinked and realised that while he had been thinking in legal terms, Shran had been worrying he had mishandled Raizel's care, and that having sex at this age had actually harmed her in some way. He had to admit that was far more sensible than worrying over the legal or even moral implications of the situation. After all, if Raizel thought like an Andorian, she would not think of human morals and laws, they would not apply to her.

"Why is it so wildly different?" asked the Andorian, looking genuinely confused. Archer tried to see it from an alien perspective… it was not easy.

"Well… erm… I honestly don't know."

"Do humans mature at different rates depending on their location, growing faster in warmer locations?"

"No… nothing like that…" Archer frowned. He had never once considered the reasoning behind what was honestly a very muddled rule. After all, how could one part of Earth say that fourteen was old enough, while in another the rule was seven years older? "It depends on the culture you come from I guess."

"That doesn't make any sense. Either you're sexually mature or you're not." said Shran irritably. "The doctors tested her thousands of ways, did scan after scan and they determined that she was capable of playing with her friends without risk!"

"Well… look I can't tell you if there has been damage or not, but try to see this from our perspective."

"I can't, you're not explaining it!"

"Look, take into account that Raizel can get pregnant now! She's just a kid still by our standards, she's not ready for a child of her own."

"But she can't with her friends, none of them are fertile! Never mind the fact that our genetic materials are incompatible!"

"But that's not the point Shran, on Earth sex is about procreation." Archer paused as the words left his lips, thinking to himself about his own 'trysts' as a young man. "I mean… ok thanks to contraception it's not literally about procreation alone anymore… not that it's only that, I mean obviously there's all the emotional connections that are supposed to be forged… it, it's meant to be about a physical expression of love between two people, but only if you're ready!"

Shran looked lost and downed his ale in a hurry. "I thought Klingon mating rituals were complex."

Archer sighed, "Don't Andorians have rules and philosophies and scientific thoughts about sex?"

Shran shrugged, "What's to ponder? We go through first puberty, we can play. That's a way of exploring yourself and others, it's social. Second puberty comes and you start looking for the other three people that suit you enough to be bonded to. When you find them you bond, then you start reproducing."

"And that's it?"

"Well there's deviancies from that, Secondaries who chose to stay that way because they want to be a pair as opposed to a quad, others who have no interest in giving up their duties, but if every Andorian formed a quad we'd have driven ourselves to extinction by over-population before we learned to write."

"So there's no moral aspects of sex?"

"Moral? Why would there be a moral to play or sex? If you mean forced play, that's not acceptable, but that is a matter of private action and retribution, or if you're a primary then your playgroup is responsible for defending you and punishing your attacker."

"So Andorians don't see something sacred about sex?"

Shran was looking more and more baffled with Archer's questions. "… Do humans?"

Archer caught himself before he snapped 'Yes!' realising that he wasn't at all sure what point he was trying to make, or if it was something he even really believed in. He clamped down on his urge to say that sex was not just a physical act, after all, he was a grown man, and he was a scientist, and he was not a big fan of the traditional attitudes of… was it America? Christianity? Both? Archer honestly was not sure.

"Look… um… maybe we should shelve this topic… human sexuality is very complicated."

Shran's antennae curled, "I would, but you can't seem to decide if my daughter has been hurt or not, and I need to know."

"I… well I think that Phlox would be able to determine that… besides it's not necessarily a physical thing, it could be mental."

"Mental?"

"Yes, having sex at a young age –the idea for the age of consent is about whether a young person really understands what they are getting into."

"But Raizel knew what she was getting into, it was all she had heard about for months, because we kept her back until we were sure she wouldn't be harmed. Her friends were going insane waiting-"

"Look, lets talk about something else!" said Archer, mortified and desperately uncomfortable talking about this.

"Like what?"

"Like… she said she spoke languages and you encouraged her to learn… English was it?"

"No, it was some sister language I think. They're similar enough." said Shran, pouring more ale for both of them.

"Must have been German, her parents were German."

"So you keep saying. What does that mean? Is she of a different status to you?"

"No, no, it's a culture and a country. Germany is her father's homeland, and her mother was from Scotland, another country, but she was a mix of German and Scottish and Irish."

Shran had narrowed his eyes at the mention of Raizel's father. Archer was certain that look was one of jealousy. But to his credit, Shran just said,

"The databanks were heavily damaged from the attacks, we weren't able to recover anything of use. So I was never able to teach Raizel about her homeworld. Not that she ever asked. She's determined to be Andorian, not human."

Archer noted the way his voice had softened, and he felt his own muscles relax, "Tell me about finding her."

Shran sighed and closed his eyes. "It was almost ten years ago. The Kumari was on the boarder of our territory, looking for danger…"

* * *

Reviews are greatly appreciated!

Night's Darkness


	9. Chapter 8

**A/N:** Hello! Yes I know it has been a while, BUT I have a valid excuse beyond life being busy. Basically, I'm writing something else for a friend for her birthday –which was a while ago, but I've been busy- and it's about the Andorians. But I decided to set myself a challenge and since it's a tale about the Andorians, from the POV of the Andorians and I'm an obsessive nerd who cannot stop myself, I have taken it upon myself to really flesh out the Andorian culture, world and language. Yep, that's right. I am building a language for these people. This naturally takes time and it's still not ready, but I decided that this update can go up and I'll keep working on the rest. This is also a warning about the next update. In all honesty, I don't know when it'll be. It could be in a couple of days, it could be in a couple of weeks. I'm sorry about this, but I really want to try and make these aliens as fleshed out as possible, particularly when it probably will have to come into play for this fic as it is going to be about the clashing of cultures.

So… basically I'm sorry about how long this has taken, I am still working on it, but I don't know when the next update will be, and hopefully when I do update, the wait will have been worth it.

And now, I hope you enjoy this post!

* * *

**Chapter 8**

_(Nine years ago; Onboard the Kumari.)_

Shran strode through his ship down to the Medical Bay. As he reached the door, his antenna picked up the distinct sound of screaming. The door opened and the screaming hit his ears. He stepped in and saw his fourth lieutenant holding a squirming biped in his arms. It was screaming and thrashing, water on its face, red blood on pink-tinged skin.

"Mami! Mami! Ich will meine Mami!"

At least it was able to speak some sort of language that could be translated easily –although why it had not already been done surprised Shran.

"Lassen Sie mich gehen! Lassen Sie mich gehen, ich will meine Mami!"

The ship's doctor was trying to scan the alien, but it kicked out and screeched, sending the scanner flying.

"Medic, can't you sedate it?" snapped Shran.

"Commander, I don't know what our sedatives will do to it. If it is a juvenile, I cannot just attempt it, you know that."

Shran gave a curt nod, grudgingly acknowledging his people's laws regarding offspring. They were time-honoured and respectable. It did not make the screaming creature any more tolerable.

"Restrain it in the medical bed, then we'll get some answers." said Shran, ignoring the affronted look of Medic. After all, he had to keep his crew safe. If it meant frightening a youth to confirm their safety, then so be it. Medic was an active thaan, he was driven by nurturing inclinations. Shran was a secondary. He had no such inclinations outside his own Clan.

The alien was carried to the bed and between them, Shran and Thon restrained it. It let out more horrible sounds, reminding Shran of a wailing sprog, but he could not dare assume that was what it was. It could easily have been promising their deaths, a tiny version of a Klingon. Actually, that was an amusing thought.

Medic scanned the creature quickly, and his eyes skimmed over the data, his mind and the computer practically working in tandem, like primaries blending together in collaboration. Finally the computer beeped and Medic pulled out a particular piece of his equipment –an intravascular bleeder. So the alien had a cardiovascular system, like a Vulcan. Blood was red, like a Betazoid. Cocking his antenna, Shran's mind supplied the information that that probably meant iron was the main metal in the blood –if the blood had a metal in it.

Medic had the blood processed, Thon watching the alien for any sign of danger. Shran watched them both, admiring his crew's efficiency, while worrying what the alien might have brought onboard the Kumari. His chief scientist was scanning for biological dangers from the bridge.

"Ah, this should do the trick!" said Medic in satisfaction. He pulled out some sort of mixture and injected the contents into the alien's appendage. Almost at once it began to quiet down, letting out little noises as it stayed awake, but no longer struggled. "Now I can see what we are really dealing with."

Shran watched Medic studying his scans, moving to the bed and looking down at the alien. It was small, pale pink, brown hair or fur on its head. Its body shape was a familiar shape, similar enough to Shran's own to be a little bizarre, if he had not known that so many species from different planets seemed to share a design pattern. Biped, two upper limbs, five digits at the end of each one. Frosty eyes roamed like a panicked zabathu's –green iris, Shran noted with mild interest.

"Translator?"

"It broke mine in the struggle." explained Thon, sounding embarrassed.

"Doesn't look strong enough to do that." Shran gave his fourth lieutenant a bland look, "You dropped it and stepped on it when the alien fought back."

Thon flushed, "… Maybe."

Shran rolled his eyes. "You're not getting a new one."

"Commander?"

"Medic?"

"My analysis indicates that the alien has a large enough brain, suggesting it is capable of rationality, but parts do not appear to be developed –however I cannot determine if that is because of age or it may be a feature of the species."

"But you do think it is a juvenile?"

"I do. But I'll need to conduct more tests to be certain."

"What about data from the ship?"

"Tarah's working on it now. It took a battering Commander." said Thon, still squirming with embarrassment.

"What else did you find?"

"I found other aliens onboard, dead. They were all much bigger than this one."

"Why didn't you say so sooner?" demanded Medic, "I can use them to determine the age of this one.

"I was preoccupied." snapped Thon.

"Enough!" cut in Shran. "As soon as Corspa is done confirming there is no risk of biological attack, we'll have the other alien's bodies brought to you to see if this is a juvenile."

"Yes Commander." they both replied.

"I'm going to get in touch with Imperial Command. Let me know when you've made progress."

The chan and thaan nodded and Shran left the room, wondering if he would be forced to leave his post to drop the alien off on Andoria. If he had his way, he would never set foot on Andoria again. He was much, much happier on his ship, away from his conglomerate.

* * *

"Commander there is nothing for it, you'll just have to keep the alien on your ship until you are done with your patrol."

"I understand General. I assume if it is an adult it is to be confined to the brig?"

"For the time being at least. If it is a youth, well, leave it in the care of your medic."

"Yes General."

As Shran cut off his comm. link he sat back and pondered what else he was meant to do with the alien. Medic was the only one on the Kumari that was Active. Everyone else was a secondary, and while short term they would be able to care for infants and youths, they were not parents. Their minds did not work that way.

As if summoned by thought, Medic called him to Sickbay.

The alien was asleep, curled up into a tiny ball. On other beds, hidden by curtains, were the bodies of four others, all larger than the living one.

"They were a family." sighed Medic, shaking his head. "The two parents and three offspring."

"So two sexes?"

"Indeed, from what I can tell, our living guest is a life carrier."

"Like a shen?"

"More like a zhen from my initial scans. And I have been able to determine that she is very young."

"An infant?"

"More on the cusp of becoming a youth."

"Well that settles a few things. Is she healthy?"

"Healthy enough, although she will need feeding soon. I will try to determine a suitable meal."

"Have a bed put in your quarters for her to remain in until we return to Andoria."

"Yes Commander."

"Mami?"

Shran turned. The alien had awoken and was rubbing her face awkwardly with her hands.

"Mami?" she called again, sounding bleary.

"I believe she's looking for her parents." said Medic. Shan rolled his eyes, he had deduced that for himself. The alien's eyes opened and she saw Shran and Medic. She froze and whimpered.

"Mami!" she cried again. "Mami! Mami!"

"Your mami is not here." said Medic in a gentle voice.

"Wh-where is my mami?" she asked, beginning to shake. Clearly Medic had switched on the translator.

"I am sorry little wum, she has been taken by death."

"Death? What's that?"

"Death means that a person goes away and will not return." said Medic, approaching her slowly. She scrambled back and tumbled right off the bed with a cry. Medic rushed forward and scooped her up, setting her down on the bed again as she began to let out horrible noises of pain. Shran realised she was crying. Crying like an Andorian infant. He hated the sound of crying infants and youths. He strode forwards and took the alien's hand.

"Listen to me." he ordered. The alien sniffled and looked up, green eyes wide and face bright pink. "Are you listening to me?"

"Y-yes."

"Good. Now, Death is a spirit which takes the yves of people away from their bodies when they run out of time. He takes the spirit away to the Afterworld, and the bodies stop working. Death does not like doing this, in fact, it is his punishment for his arrogance and selfishness that he must do it, and be loathed by everyone alive. Death has taken your family, and you will miss them, but they are not gone completely. They still exist as energy, but you cannot see them."

"My… mami…"

"Is gone forever. I am sorry."

"But… my papa? My schwester, my bruder?"

"Gone. You are with us now… I'm afraid from now on you will live with us."

"But you're… you're not human."

"Human? Is that what you are?"

"I'm a girl."

"What do you call yourself?"

"Raizel."

Shran sighed, "Very well, let me ask again. What is your species?"

"Like… am I a Vulcan?"

"Are you a Vulcan?"

"N-no." The questions were calming her, not distressing her. Shran decided it was his calm tone, so he decided to press on despite Medic looking annoyed.

"So what are you?"

"I… I am a human. Mami said… mami said that I am human."

"Very well, and you have a name as well?"

"Raizel."

"Then we shall call you that as well."

She nodded, still wide-eyed and frightened, but she looked up at his face and said, "What's your name? What are you?"

"I am Commander Shran of the Starship Kumari, I am an Andorian."

"You're very blue." she said, her little hand twitching up as if she wanted to touch his face. Medic smiled to himself, while Shran's annoyance flared. He hated aliens commenting on his skin tone as if it was odd.

"This is Medic, he will look after you." he told Raizel.

"Where are you going?" she whimpered.

"I have work to do." he said, turning away and walking out of the sickbay.

* * *

_(Present)_

"Charming." said Archer, shaking his head as Shran finished his tale. The Andorian gave him a narrow eyed look.

"I was a commander, and I am no doctor. Leaving her with Medic was standard procedure. In any case, I'm a secondary, it would have been foolish to remain with her when she was in the care of an active."

"So how did you end up bonding with her?"

Shran looked away and shrugged, "It's complicated."

"Always is." sighed Archer, draining his glass. He was quiet for a moment, then said, "I wish you had told me sooner. But I understand why you didn't. But… you need to understand something Shran, before this goes any further."

Shran met his eyes.

"This is not going to be handled well on Earth. Raizel Andreas was _**the**_ lost child. The whole world mourned her loss. She is a symbol of the dangers of space travel, she is a part of the culture that is very powerful. She will cause a huge stir among the people of Earth and you need to be prepared for whatever may come of it."

"You think I will held in contempt despite having done nothing wrong?" asked Shran.

"There will be people who talk about things like that." said Archer gently. Shran considered a moment, then shrugged,

"Sounds like my normal life."

Archer frowned at him, but Shran did not elaborate. Instead he said,

"You should go pink-skin, my Clan Leaders will not stand your presence in the conglomerate much longer."

Archer nodded and set down his glass. "Tomorrow I think Hoshi should talk to Raizel, just the two of them. Will that be acceptable?"

Shran shrugged, "If you like."

The defeated air was back. Archer wanted to say something to cheer his friend up, but there was nothing he could think of. So he just left. As he made his way through the Andorian city the hair on the back of his neck stood up and he looked around. It took him a moment, but finally he spotted Raizel standing in the mouth of a cave, staring down at him, surrounded by what he thought were Aenar for a moment, but then he realised they were watching him with clear eyes. They were young Andorians, primaries he realised. They surrounded her like an army, and what struck Archer the most was the fact that she looked like she belonged there. It was then he realised that however cooperative the clan was going to be, it was her friends they would have to fight with to get her to come to Earth.

* * *

_(Mess Hall, Enterprise)_

"So what's she like?"

Hoshi sighed as Travis grinned at her with excitement. "She's… she's a teenage girl."

"What do you mean?"

"She's temperamental, but vulnerable. She's scared and angry and confident."

"Well… is she excited about meeting other humans?"

"Not in the slightest. She didn't want us there."

"Oh…" Travis looked disappointed. "I'd have thought meeting others like her would have been a good thing."

"Maybe, but she's spent her whole life trying to be Andorian. I think we just reminded her how impossible that really is."

"Well… I guess I can't blame her for being angry then." Travis poked at his food, then said, "So… is she going to come to Earth? This news really isn't going to stay quiet for long."

"I doubt she'll want to, but I think Shran will make her go."

"What's Shran like as a dad? I can't imagine him being a dad to a human."

"He… I don't know. I got the feeling the two of them aren't seeing eye to eye, but maybe that's just a recent phase. I think they do have a relationship but I don't know how strong."

"What about the rest of his family?"

"That's the thing, I think Shran is as terrified of his Clan Leaders as I was when I saw them. Honestly, imagine a king and queen who are the most tyrannical beings you've ever seen, double it up and then you have some idea of the aura those four gave off. I was afraid to blink at them."

"That bad?"

"They made Shran curl up like a kid, and I never thought that man could be cowed by anything."

"Me either." Travis shook his head at the idea. "What's the house like? Is it true the family lives together, all the generations?"

"Yes, it's huge."

"Talking about the Conglomerate?" asked Phlox as he and Lieutenant Reed joined them.

"Yup." said Travis, smiling in greeting.

"It's absolutely fascinating. I would have imagined if a human or Vulcan family attempted to live in such a way, they would, how do you put it, um, crack?" The Denobulan grinned at the idea.

"I don't know… worked for my family on our shuttle." said Travis, mixing his pasta and sauce more thoroughly.

"Ah, true, but over two hundred individuals living in one small space?"

"It wasn't that small." said Hoshi, "Although… I guess for over two hundred people, it might be pretty small."

"Andorians are practically designed to be in close quarters with each other."

"With their tempers?" asked Travis.

"They are infamous for their loyalty, not for their aggression." said Phlox, "While those two can be heavily interlinked, there is a difference. The Andorian sense of loyalty overwhelms everything else, including common sense, and it is my understanding that they are trained to think of their planet, and their people as an extension of their conglomeration. It's rather telling that when they give a location they always start as wide as they can."

"How'd you mean?"

"If you asked for an address from an Andorian, they will always give you the planet, then the province, then the city, then the conglomeration. It may seem simple and insignificant, but in reality it is a constant reminder of their place in their world. The planet always comes first."

"Huh… never thought of it that way."

"My observation is that Andorians are a little like hive creatures."

"You mean like bees?" asked Lieutenant Reed.

"Exactly. They are all connected, working together to keep things harmonious and functional. Any deviation from this interworking system does not appear to be welcome at all."

"You mean like adopting an alien child?" asked Travis soberly. Phlox's smile faded to seriousness and he nodded.

"Indeed."

The three humans shared a look as they suddenly wondered how Shran had been treated along with his human daughter.

* * *

Comments and reviews are much appreciated, as always.

Night's Darkness


	10. Chapter 9

Not much of the Enterprise crew this time around. This is a chapter about Raizel and Shran. Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 9**

_(Andoria, Shaastheos Province, Zain City) _

Walking through the city again, Archer took some time to appreciate the beauty and sheer _alien_ feel of the place. It was all so strange, even the way the houses felt like they had sprung up from the geothermal pools that were one of the main power sources of the planet. The same pools Andorians had emerged from as strange, primitive creatures without eyes or ears. Thanks to the preserving power of ice, Andorians had been able to trace their evolutionary history rather well, or so Shran had once mentioned as he was praising his homeworld.

It was still bitterly cold for Archer and Hoshi, who clutched at their coats to keep the warmth in. Archer just could not imagine being able to live here happily, so happily that you wouldn't leave. He knew Raizel was adapted and well cared for –as far as they could tell anyway –but still, he just could not imagine it. He knew it, but he didn't believe it.

"What do you want me to talk about with her?"

"Just… girl stuff." said Archer lamely. Hoshi gave him one of her looks that told him he was an idiot and she was not going to say it out loud.

"Girl stuff?"

"I just… just talk to her about general stuff. Not about going to Earth or anything like that."

"Ah… of course sir. But something tells me we're not going to have a lot in common."

"Hoshi, if there's anyone who'll get her to open up, it's you."

* * *

_(__Andoria, Shaastheos Province, Zain City, Hvishrath Conglomerate)_

"She's not here?"

"That's what I said pink-skin."

Archer stared at Shran, taken aback by his blasé attitude regarding his daughter's whereabouts.

"But you said she'd be here!"

"I said you could allow Ensign Sato to talk with her, but I'm afraid Raizel is in Collaboration."

"With who?"

"The other primaries."

"What?"

Shran sighed and shook his head, "A Collaboration is what we call a gathering of primaries."

"So go get her. Please."

"I can't, I'm not allowed."

"Not allowed?"

Shran spoke with the tone of someone speaking to a very slow person. "I am a secondary. I am not permitted to enter a Collaboration. It is primary territory and jurisdiction. Until she emerges, there's nothing I can do."

Archer ground his teeth in annoyance. "You couldn't have asked her to stay?"

"She's been there since yesterday."

"She didn't come home?" asked Hoshi, widening her eyes.

"Oezhaan." said Senkrad, walking into the main room of the knoll. "Loyalty to you Captain Archer, Ensign Sato." he added with a smile. Archer nodded in acknowledgment of the greeting.

"What?" asked Shran shortly.

"I think there's a few primaries around in the Conglomerate, or we could ask Imos if he would-"

"Imos is too busy sleeping in a sarcophagus to go walking into a Collaboration uninvited." said Shran with a flick of his antennae. Archer wondered what in God's name that meant.

"What about one of the primaries that's still attached to the nursery? Erib might go get her."

Shran sighed, twisting one corner of his lips into his cheek, "If we do, she'll be in a foul mood. Wouldn't it be better for this whole situation if she comes home of her own accord. She knows better than to remain in Collaboration forever."

"You have a point." said Senkrad, inclining his antennae. "Rai-rai is always in a good mood after a good Collaboration."

Archer felt annoyed, but clamped down on it. During the night, he had decided that he had to think about Raizel before others, and he doubted that pushing her and trying to force her to deal with politics that were so out of her control was fair. So he shook his head,

"No. It's ok. We can come back another day, when she's here."

"I doubt she'll stay away for long, she knows better even if she wants to ignore everything." said Shran, shrugging. "I'll contact you when she returns."

"Thanks." Archer decided to extend an olive branch to his friend. "Do you want to come for dinner on Enterprise? You can come as well Senkrad, if you like."

Senkrad went a funny shade of purple. "Me? On a star ship? Oh no, no. Never."

Shran smirked, "My chanta is afraid of being in space."

"There's no air or pressure! Thank you Captain, but I like knowing I'm surrounded on all sides by the things that keep me alive and unless some freak accident occurs, I will remain so." Senkrad inclined his antennae to Archer and backed up quickly.

"Fair enough." Archer fought a smile as he looked at Shran, "What about you?"

Shran's antennae flushed darker blue. "I cannot. Gratitude for the invitation. But my Clan Leaders have decided I am not to leave the planet."

"Not even to go into orbit?"

"Technically I am not to leave the Conglomerate." said Shran, looking humiliated. Archer felt his cheeks heat up with embarrassment as he realised that, in a bizarre way, Shran had been grounded by his grandparents.

"Oh… well… ok. Maybe for the best. We don't want Raizel to feel like we're trying to get you on our side against her."

"Exactly." said Senkrad sharply. "She does not need that."

"I am on her side!" snapped Shran at the same time.

Archer felt his spine stiffen at the Andorians' tones. But he nodded, knowing better than to push his luck. He was learning fast that if he was going to keep things calm, he would have to be very careful, and respectful not only of the traditions and customs of Andorians, but also of the unique personalities of the people.

"I didn't mean to suggest that you weren't on her side."

"Good. Because the whole Conglomerate is on her side, not yours." said Senkrad. One of Shran's antennae twitched but he simply nodded.

"Ok. Uh… well then, we'll just go back to Enterprise and if you could let us know when she's available…"

"I will." said Shran shortly. Senkrad at his side was almost a mirror image of determination.

"Ok. See you another time."

Shran nodded again, "Goodbye."

No one followed them out, but Archer found himself moving as if the whole Clan was chasing him down.

* * *

_(Andoria, Shaastheos Province, Zain__ Collaboration) _

"The humans are gone." said Hinimu running from the mouth of the ice cave and skidding to a halt before the Dominants. "I think they're returning to their ship."

"Understood." said Atel. Atel, the dominant zhen of the Collaboration, turned in her stone seat to look at the primary seated at her feet. "See, we told you they would not take your corat to the ship."

"You were right." sighed Raizel, looking up as Atel ran her long pale fingers through her dyed blonde hair.

"Isn't she always?" chuckled Riril, the dominant thaan, seated next to Atel. He reached down and put his big hands around Raizel's middle, lifting her up and seating her on his thighs. Raizel relaxed against him at once. "Now, will you come to sense?"

"I don't want to leave the Collaboration, or my Clan." Raizel stressed, frustration making her pale cheeks flush pink. The colour change made Atel's antennae spread out and she reached out to skim the back of her fingers against the warming skin. This made Raizel's skin flush darker and warmer.

"And we will not encourage you to leave us. At least not permanently." said Riril, playing with her hair. "But perhaps spending some time on your homeworld would be good for you."

"Good for me? In what way?"

"Well for one, looking at those other humans I'm getting the idea that you are not meant to be as pale as a primary or an Aenar." Riril took hold of Raizel's arm and turned it over, exposing the snow white skin on her inner arm. "As pretty and soft as it may be, I think you are meant to be pinker."

"The word from our emissary is that you're not meant to be this pale, in fact you're meant to be pink, or red, or even yellow or brown." said Atel, running a finger over the skin.

"I'm happy with my skin colour." said Raizel a touch of annoyance in her voice. "It… I look more like you this way."

Riril laughed, as did Nyn and Zheenth, the dominant chan and shen. The laughter filtered through the cave as the other primaries picked it up. Nyn clambered over Zheenth's legs from his stone chair, and wrapped his arms around her rubbing his nose into her neck. Raizel shivered and giggled, squealing as Nyn dug his fingers into her ribs and squirming out of Riril's arms, landing with a grunt on the rock.

"There we are! Now she's pink." crowed Nyn, returning to his seat. Raizel flushed even more and smiled up at the dominant chan. Nyn clapped his hands together and cooed, "So sweet! Why would we ever give you up?"

"If it is better for the politics to have her go to Earth for a time, she ought to do so." said Atel, giving Nyn a scolding glance. Nyn spread his hands, extending his neck in acceptance of Atel's words.

"But what if they try to keep me?"

"You are a primary. And you are a member of a powerful Clan. We would have you returned." said Riril, reclining back in his chair.

"And what if I cannot contact you?"

"Shras will. He is already well aware of the situation." said Atel.

"I contacted him myself yesterday." said Zheenth.

"Gratitude." murmured Raizel, lifting her chin so she could bare her neck. The Dominants smiled and tapped their collars with their fingers in acceptance of her thanks.

"Now! Enough of this worrying." Riril stood up and with a wave of his arms, commanded the attention of the whole Collaboration. "Today we have concerns which pull at our stomachs. But we cannot know the future anymore than we can know another species' true thoughts. So I suggest that today we shall enjoy ourselves and revel in our existence, our passions and our desires."

He beckoned several primaries over and said, "Play some music. I would have Raizel sing for us."

The primaries nodded and retrieved the instruments set against the wall of the cave. Raizel got to her feet and brushed off her robe. Riril caught her by the shoulder and turned her to him. Cupping her chin in his hot hand, he pulled her head up so he could press a firm kiss against her lips. Raizel reached up and grabbed a handful of the fur on his head, holding him tight. Riril slid his hand down her neck and touched her chest where her heart pushed against his palm. He pulled back and smirked down at her, earning a returning smirk from her pink lips. Releasing her, Riril returned to his seat and Raizel, feeling far more cheerful than she had in days, strode over to the gathering primaries with the instruments. Two of the primaries offered her their hands and she accepted them, closing her eyes and opening her mind to those around her. Their minds brushed hers and she reached out with careful pressure. Three years of practise had taught her that her mind had to slip into the collaboration with care, otherwise either she or someone else would be hurt.

The flow of minds began to pull her along like a current in a pool, and she went with it. As she did, music began to play around her, cheerful and exciting. Her hands were released and more instruments began to play as the collaboration took hold and Raizel opened her eyes. With a grin, she began to dance with the music, waiting for the moment where she would sing. The words, like always, would come to her as the music did, an improvised, free flowing process that, whether the song be happy or sad, always made her feel so invigorated.

Drawing up one foot from the ground, Raizel span on the ball of the other, before pushing up onto her toes and spinning three times before dropping gracefully to her knee. She lifted her eyes, fixing them on the watching primaries closest to her, smirked, and began to sing. The cave's acoustics were perfect for this, carrying her voice across the vast space, the instruments' sounds wrapping around her voice and flowing through the air, stroking the antennae and ears of everyone in the cave.

And some outside it.

* * *

_(__Andoria, Shaastheos Province, Zain City, Hvishrath Conglomerate)_

Shran pushed open the window of his room and cocked his head to the side as a song floated in on the faint breeze in the cave. It was quiet, but as he listened he recognised his sprog's voice. Raizel's voice was not like any Andorian's, so Shran never had any difficulty picking her out of a chorus. But when he heard her sing alone like this, he felt pride flow into his blood and he revelled in her acceptance by her primary peers. He knew it had not been easy for her adapting to life in the Conglomerate. He sometimes wondered if it would have been easier if she had been adopted by another person, by another Clan. His Clan was not the best choice to try to be different in. He knew that well enough.

Sitting down on his nest, Shran let his sprog's voice flow over his antennae and recalled the day he had brought her to the knoll.

_(Nine Years Ago; __Andoria, Shaastheos Province, Zain City, Hvishrath Conglomerate)_

Raizel was so heavily wrapped up she was almost lost in amongst the fur and silk. Shran half hoped that it would keep his clan from noticing her alien features. As if they were not already fully aware of her appearance. Still, it was nice to imagine they would welcome her.

Raizel clung to his neck as he carried her into the Conglomerate, wide green eyes staring at all the statues of his ancestors.

"Who they?" she asked in her broken Andori.

"Special Clan members." he replied, "They all did something important."

"Like what?"

"Well, that one was one of the leaders of the battle against the Orions." Shran pointed to the statue of the zhen standing tall with a Ushaan-tor in her hand.

"Orions? The bad ones?" asked Raizel, eyes going even wider.

"Yes. The bad ones." said Shran. Raizel had spent nine cycles on the Kumari with a crew who knew well the evil in the universe. She was already well aware of the dangers of the Vulcans, the Tellerites and most importantly, the Orions.

Shran started to climb the steps. His Clan Leaders were awaiting them in the Great Hall, along with the actives of the Clan. The ones who had a say in the running of everything. Technically, by adopting Raizel Shran had disobeyed an unspoken command. But then again, he had not meant to end up in this situation. Still, she was his now, and he would care for her.

"Now, when you meet the Clan Leaders, what do you do?"

"Touch my shoulders, lift my chin and say 'Loyalty to the Hvishrath Clan!' then wait for them to say they accept."

"Good. And when they do?"

"I… I can come back to you?"

Shran nodded, "You can come back to me."

Raizel huddled against him, "Scared." she mumbled into his neck. Shran squeezed her tight and paused on the steps so he could set her down on her feet. He pushed the hood of her cloak back to her shoulders and then crouched down in front of her.

"I know you're scared. But you are part of this Clan now. They will accept you."

"Will they like me?" she asked poking at her own stomach.

No was the honest answer. The Clan Leaders were furious over this whole thing. But they would not let it show to her. They would be their usual cold, regal selves, but they would not be cruel. At least, not to her. Shran, on the other hand, would have some serious questioning to deal with.

"You are a part of this Clan. They will love you for that." he told her hoping that would suffice. It seemed to be enough for now, Raizel smiled and held out her hand. Shran took it, still fascinated by the coolness of her fingers and the smallness of her hand in his, and together they climbed the final few steps. Inhaling deeply, Shran knocked on the door. After a moment, the door swung open, revealing the hall. The Clan Leaders were seated at the table, and all the actives, including many of Shran's own siblings, were there, seated on the ascending rows of seats behind them.

Shran felt his body break out into nervous chills.

Raizel's hand was now slippery with sweat in his grip as he led her into the room. He could feel the eyes of everyone on him and Raizel. He could only hope some of the eyes were kind, as he refused to look away from his Clan Zhen. She was staring at him, fury visible in her eyes, even as she said,

"Come forward. Speak."

Shran led Raizel forward and pulled her in front of him, resting his hands on her shoulders.

"I greet the Leaders of my honoured Clan as a simple secondary, and present to you my offspring gained from love and loyalty if not by blood, Raizel."

Raizel, who was now shaking under his hands, straightened up and stepped forward, Shran's hands dropping to his sides. She stared at the Clan Leaders, who stared back, impassive. As Shran watched, he felt disarmingly protective of this tiny pink-skin standing before his huge and imposing family. Then Raizel lifted her chin, baring her neck to the Clan Leaders, and her hands came up to touch her shoulders. In a shaky, but loud voice.

"Loyalty to the Hvishrath Clan!"

Shran glanced up and saw one of his kahishos, Orec, hide a smile with her life-mates. He sensed the amusement and endearment of some of the actives ripple up and he relaxed a little. The feeling vanished as soon as Clan Zhen stood up, brown eyes fixed on Raizel, who had not moved, although her shaking was more obvious.

"The Clan accepts your loyalty Raizel. You are welcome."

A lie, but one Shran would accept with ease as Raizel nodded and then span around and ran back to him, clutching at his jacket with small, trembling fingers. He rested his hand on her head, willing her to calm down as she hid her face in his side.

"Gratitude Clan Leaders for your acceptance. If it is acceptable, I will take my offspring to her knoll and help her build her nest."

Clan Zhen nodded and waved him away. Shran disengaged Raizel's clutching hands and held them in his one so he could walk. He pulled her along out of the room, sagging in relief as the door shut behind them. He looked down at Raizel, who was white rather than pink now, and looked very scared.

"You did really well sprog." he told her, smiling down at her. "Come on. You need a nest. And my chanta and kahisho are waiting to meet you."

Raizel narrowed her eyes in concentration, "Chanta… your chan sibling and Kahisho… your zhen sibling."

"That's right."

"And… that means it's… Senkrad and and Lirril?

"Senkrad and Lissiel, Lirril is long active."

"Oh… sorry."

"Do not worry. I know there are a lot of names for a non-Andorian to remember."

Raizel nodded, "You have a lot of siblings! And you said that you don't really have that many for an Andorian."

"That's right." Shran guided her to the left as they reached the door to his knoll. He pushed it open and led her inside. "Here we are. This is our knoll."

"Shran!" Senkrad leapt off his seat and bounded over to Shran, embracing him tight. "I am so glad to see you home!"

Senkrad always greeted him with enough enthusiasm to make up for the rest of the Clan. Shran hugged his chanta tight and then pulled back, reaching out for Raizel.

"Senkrad, meet my offspring, Raizel."

Senkrad's antennae spread out in open affection as he held out his hands to her. "Loyalty to you Raizel."

Raizel's cheeks went bright pink and she grabbed at Shran's jacket again, burying her face in his side, peeping out at Senkrad with one green eyes. Shran rested his hand on the back of her head, stroking her hair in reassurance.

"This is my chanta, Senkrad. Don't be shy. He's as harmless as an Aenar."

Senkrad threw him a mock-angry look for the comparison, but he did not deny it. Raizel peered up at him, still flattening herself against Shran's leg, before finally holding out one hand to him, mumbling something which was probably a greeting. Senkrad took her hand in his, cradling it like it was fragile as he crouched down in front of her.

"You are very welcome to our knoll, little one. Why don't we start work on your nest?"

"Nest?"

"Yes. Where you will sleep."

"She slept in a medical bed we set up on the Kumari." said Shran quickly.

"Ah. Well, we sleep in nests, made of fur and silk. Our parents start making them when we are conceived and when we are old enough we sleep with our litter in one big nest, and when we get bigger we break it up to form our own nests."

Raizel stared blankly at him, then nodded her head. Shran chuckled,

"Come, let's get started."

"Where will I sleep?" asked Raizel, looking around at all the doors. Senkrad pursed his lips as he straightened up.

"We can either put the nest in Shran's room or we can give you a room of your own. Which would you prefer?"

"Um…" Raizel looked up at Shran for help. Shran wrinkled his nose in thought.

"Why don't we build it in my room, just until you're settled in, and then you can move into one of the other rooms?"

Raizel nodded, looking satisfied. Then she beckoned Shran with her fingers. Shran leaned down so she could whisper in his ear.

"Need to go to the bathroom."

He smiled and pointed at the third door from them. Raizel nodded and bolted for the door. Once she was inside, Shran could hear her start to sing nonsense words to herself –something she did whenever she was in a room alone. Medic said that she did it to relieved anxiety and would probably grow out of it.

Shran glanced at Senkrad, trying to see how his chanta really felt.

"She's adorable!" chuckled Senkrad. "All pink skin and brown fur!"

Shran smiled and nodded, "Indeed. My crew adored her –even Tarah could not resist her cuteness."

Senkrad fixed Shran with two stiff antennae. "Does the sprog know you'll have to leave soon?"

Shran's antennae fell and he sighed, "No. I haven't told her."

"Were you planning on sneaking off?"

"No! I just… I have asked that the crew be permitted some leave while I sort Raizel out, get her settled. I should be able to remain for about four cycles if I'm lucky."

"Four cycles!" yelped Senkrad, "That's only 52 turns! She was on the Kumari for over twice that!

"Keep your voice down!" hissed Shran, glancing at the door. Raizel was still singing to herself. "I will ask for more time, but you know the Guard is not likely to give it."

"But what then?"

"I hope to have her settled in the nursery and here."

"And who will care for her?"

"I had hoped you and Lissiel would look after her while I am gone."

"Oh did you?" Senkrad's antennae whirled around as if he could not decide if he was angry or amused by the idea.

"Well what else can I do?"

"Leave the Guard!"

"I can't."

"You won't."

"No, I can't. I am bound to the Guard for life. If I left I'd be arrested."

"Since when!" squawked Senkrad.

"Since twenty five orbits ago!"

"Why did you never tell me?"

"Because until now it wasn't an issue." said Shran, refusing to get into an argument about this now. "Now no more. We will talk when she has been settled."

Senkrad glared at him, then nodded just as Raizel came out of the bathroom, wiping her hands on her fur coat to dry them. She looked up at Shran and seemed to stare from him and Senkrad suspiciously. Shran decided to distract her, so she would not ask awkward questions.

"Come on sprog, we'll go build a nest for you."

Raizel nodded, accepting his offered hand as he led her into his own room.

_(__Present Day; Andoria, Shaastheos Province, Zain City, Hvishrath Conglomerate)_

Shran glanced across his room to the corner where Raizel's nest had been for a few orbits –he had been gone so often, she had almost made the room her own. If Shran had not been so particular about keeping his room for himself, he probably would have just acceded it to her. Now her room was next to his. It had been quite some time since she had moved and even then he had not been around as much as he would have liked. But he could still remember the sound of her breathing as she slept in her nest. Once or twice, when he had come home after a particularly bad mission, he had listened to it all night, reminding himself that he had to keep doing his job for her, not just for the whole planet. He had to keep his sprog safe.

And yet he was failing now. He would willingly give himself to the Orions, even knowing what they would do to him, if it was to protect her, and yet in the face of politics he was failing.

Shran had always hated politics, he had never truly trusted it, even now after spending three years at a table as much as at a weapons consol to maintain his people's safety. And he had always known, from the moment he had laid eyes on Archer that he would face the difficulties of Raizel's adoption. But there seemed to be a chance now that he would lose his sprog and cost his planet the hard earned security he had spent cycles trying to gain for them, all in one go.

"Not happening." he hissed to himself. "She's my offspring! Mine. I will not let anyone take her from me."

He was fully prepared to go to his Clan Leaders and swear an oath to them about it, making it unbreakable, when a thought made him pause.

What if… what if Raizel changed her mind?

Shran knew that despite her protests, his sprog was capable of changing her mind. What if she decided she wanted to stay on Earth? What if she decided she wanted to be with her human family?

What if she decided she never wanted to see Shran again?

The thought made chills break out across his body and he clenched his hands into fists. He could handle many things, but losing those he loved to anything was not one of them. He had lost Talas, he had lost his parents, he had lost most of his crew on the Kumari. If he ever lost Raizel, or his blood brothers, or Senkrad, he would not be able to stand it. They were the constants of his life, the people he knew he could rely on, if only because he could keep Raizel safe.

And yet… if she wanted to go, could Shran deny her what would make her happy? Wasn't being a parent about doing what was best for your offspring, before your own desires?

Shran had spent his sprog days and his youth having to deal with a damaged quad missing one of its mates where they obsessively fussed over him, denying him any sort of freedom for fear of losing him. As part of the last litter the quad had conceived and being the only sprog to survive a traumatic birth that should have killed him, his parents had guarded him so much his siblings had resented, even hated, him and he had been isolated and lonely, concepts which were meant to be incomprehensible to Andorians. Shran knew well the damaging effects of parents that put their own needs ahead of their sprogs, even if the need had been to keep said sprogs close.

So if Raizel decided she wanted to remain on Earth, he would accept it and make it happen. If she wanted to become part of her human family and separate from the Clan, he would make it happen, regardless of the Clan Leaders. And if she never wanted to see him again… he would accept it, even if it killed him. So long as it made her happy he would do it.

As he picked up the nearest bottle of ale, he prayed to the Wanderers that he would never have to do that.

* * *

Comments are always deeply appreciated.

Night's Darkness


	11. Chapter 10

Apologies for the late update, life's been busy lately.

Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 10**

_(On Enterprise)_

Archer was awoken that morning by Hoshi's urgent voice over the comm..

"_It's Admiral __Gardner sir, he's demanding to speak with you." _

"Put him through."

Archer pulled a t-shirt over his head as he moved to his desk, rubbed his face a few times to wake up, and then switched on the consol. Admiral Gardner's face appeared, looking like thunder.

"Admiral-"

"Captain, the news has broken."

Now Archer was awake. "Sir?"

Admiral Gardner sighed, "Someone leaked the news about the Andreas girl to the press and now the whole world knows she's alive and that she's been on Andoria all along AND they know who's been raising her."

"Please tell me the family knew already?"

"We had informed her grandparents, but I don't think the rest of the family knew. Her grandparents wanted to see how things played out on your end before saying anything."

"Well… that's something I guess." Archer sighed, rubbing his face again. "What's the reaction been so far?"

"So far it seems people are just looking for more information about her. Is she healthy, has she been well treated, why didn't the Andorians say anything sooner? I think the fact that Shran is popular with the people has helped."

Popular was an understatement. Shran was the most popular alien on Earth –Archer had never actually told the Andorian out of fear of his ego –partly due to his aid in the Xindi crisis, partly due to his appearance. He was a hero on Earth, just as much as the crewmembers of Enterprise.

"Well at least everyone's concerned about her well being."

"For now. But you know as well as I do that since the Xindi attack there are plenty of xenophobes who will be furious that she was not returned to Earth at once. And I wouldn't be surprised if that question comes up among the more rational as the news sinks in. It's not invalid."

"They have laws-"

"I know that, you know that. But even if we explain that, it might not be enough."

Archer rubbed his face with one hand, then stared at the admiral. "What do you want me to do?"

"I think you need to really push for her to come to Earth."

"Sir, she really doesn't want to."

"I can understand that, but her family wants to meet her, and the world may need to see that she is healthy and well before it truly believes it. We can say it as much as we want and it won't be worth as much as seeing her for themselves."

"I can't force her to go. Quite honestly I won't force her to go."

"I don't want you to. But perhaps you could impress upon her how important this is. If we want this coalition to go forward we need Earth to not be arguing over whether the long lost Andreas child has been abused or not."

"I don't think that'll help."

"She needn't stay for long. At most a month. It can be less if she really doesn't wish to remain. Just make it sound like a holiday."

A holiday where she would be followed around by the press everywhere she went, thought Archer irritably. But he nodded.

"I will talk to her."

"Good. I trust you'll be able to sort this. Starfleet out."

The Starfleet insignia appeared in place of the Admiral and Archer slumped in his chair, groaned in frustration and looked at Porthos who seemed to give him a sympathetic look.

"Like we needed any more pressure in this thing."

* * *

_(__Andoria, Shaastheos Province, Zain City, Hvishrath Conglomerate)_

Archer and Hoshi returned to the Hvishrath Conglomerate, mentally preparing themselves for the reactions of Shran, Raizel and the Clan. They were let in and found the right knoll without a guide, only to find Shran and Senkrad and several others all gathered together and having a hushed conversation. They looked around as Archer and Hoshi entered, falling quiet.

"You've heard." said Archer at once. Shran nodded,

"We understand that the general population is now aware of Raizel's location. Ambassador Thoris informed us a few hours ago."

"We're not sure yet how the news was leaked, but we will try to find out."

"What does that matter now?" asked one of the unfamiliar Andorians. He was tall and rather pale, projecting a strange intensity with his very presence. "What is of concern now is how the news is being taken. After all, if your people react with xenophobic aggression, we will not permit Raizel to leave the planet, no matter how vocal your people may be about it."

A zhen Andorian snorted, tossing her long hair over her shoulder, "Why Imos, I did not realise you concerned yourself with such base things anymore."

Imos did not look the slightest bit flustered, "There is nothing base about the Clan's safety."

Shran's antennae did a kind of circle, not unlike a human rolling their eyes. "Can we save the arguments about Imos' life-choice after we have decided if this situation is going to cause an inter-planetary incident?"

The zhen shrugged, "Don't we need the primary?"

"Raizel is getting changed."

"She's here?" asked Archer, feeling relieved.

"The primary emissary contacted the dominants of the Zain Collaboration and informed them of the situation. They felt it prudent for Raizel to return to the Conglomerate."

Archer decided not to ask. He was saved from needing to by Raizel's emergence from her room. She was pulling her hair out of her face, and seemed less moody than before.

"Ah, Raizel!" said the zhen.

"Lissiel!" Raizel went to the zhen and took her hands, "I thought you were in the Chotethaar Province, caring for one of your patients."

"I was, but he is recovering well, so I decided I had best return to the conglomerate and make sure no one was causing you problems."

Raizel lifted her chin, eyes soft in the light, "Gratitude Lissiel."

Lissiel smirked, "None required."

Raizel squeezed Lissiel's hands and then turned to Imos. She touched her shoulders, lifted her chin and then bent her knee in a kind of curtsey. "Whisperer to the Wanderers, I am grateful you have come to offer guidance."

Imos returned the gesture with fluid grace and said, "Of course."

"Yes, thank you for climbing out of your ice-coffin to offer light words." said Lissiel with a smirk. Imos ignored her in favour of resting his hand on Raizel's head for a moment before moving away and standing next to Senkrad.

Raizel inhaled deeply and turned to Archer and Hoshi, fixing them with a mature gaze, "So, I understand that my existence has been revealed to your world."

Archer did not miss her usage of 'your world'. "That's right. And I'm afraid it has caused a lot of waves."

"Why?"

"When you disappeared it affected the whole planet. You were the first child to be lost to space."

"And?"

"And that means that you're like… the figurehead for the dangers of space travel. Such feelings are only worse since the Xindi attack."

Raizel ran her teeth over her lips for a second, "I see. So no one is pleased by the news?"

"I wouldn't say that." said Hoshi quickly, "Many people are relieved that you are safe. But they would like proof."

"Proof? You mean you want me to go to Earth to prove I am unharmed."

"Well… if you were willing…?" said Archer carefully. Raizel tilted her head to the side, then stepped across the room to join Shran, slipping her hand around his arm.

"Willing?"

"We won't make you go. We don't want to make things difficult for you."

"Really? Hrm…" Raizel pursed her lips and looked at Shran, who met her gaze. The two seemed to have a silent conversation, antennae and faces twitching. Archer watched them, struck again by the similar bearing of the two. They looked nothing alike, and yet there was so much in Raizel that reminded him of Shran. She really was all Andorian. Archer wondered if her family would be able to accept that. He had heard a rumour that one of her uncles had been seen giving xenophobic speeches a few years ago.

"What does the Collaboration say?" asked Shran finally, shifting his arm so he could take her hand.

"They have ordered me to go. I will obey, even if I do not wish to go. Dominant Thaan Riril says that it would be worthwhile to experience my own culture, that it would be an extension of my liberation."

"Your Dominant Thaan is wise." said Imos, leaning on the counter behind him. "The whole point of the liberation is to explore yourself before your sublimation."

Archer wondered if the UT was damaged, the Andorians were making less sense.

"The law is clear though, Primaries are not to leave the planet –unless they are emissaries." said Senkrad.

"The Zain Collaboration has requested that I be named as such. With the Clan Leader's permission, I will be able to go to Earth."

"I will speak with them about going with you." said Shran.

"Do you think they will agree?" asked Lissiel, antennae arching back dubiously. For a moment Shran said nothing, in fact for a moment it was unclear if he had even heard the question. Then he looked at Lissiel and said in a cold voice,

"I do not care if they agree or not. I'll go either way. I am just giving them a way of saving their own pride."

As one it seemed all the older Andorians grimaced, like they were recalling bad memories. Shran rested his hand on the back of Raizel's neck and she stared up at him in awe.

"You'd disobey the Clan Leaders for me?" she asked, mouth hanging open. Shran looked at her with such a serious expression it gave Archer chills.

"Raizel, you are my sprog. Mine. I would give myself to the Orions to do what they do –even if I were bonded –if it would ensure your safety and joy. Never doubt that."

All the Andorians, and Raizel, shivered a little at the mention of the Orions, Raizel paling even more. In a jerk reaction she reached out and seized a hold of Shran's shirt, burying her face into his chest. Shran embraced her at once and buried his nose in her hair. Archer looked away, feeling as if he had intruded on something incredibly private. He glanced at Hoshi and saw she also looked embarrassed at her own presence. He could hear Raizel and Shran murmuring to each other, Raizel sounding choked and glanced at them. Raizel was staring up at her fa –corat with such awe and love that really struck home the fact that Raizel really loved Shran as her parent and any threat to this bond between them would be fought with everything they both had.

Archer tried to imagine if he had discovered his father had not been his biological father and someone had come to try to take him to meet his real father. The moment he imagined how he would have felt, he shook his head at how anyone could think tearing Raizel from Shran was a good idea.

Shran finally broke his gaze from Raizel's and looked at Archer with guarded eyes. "When do we leave?"

"When you're ready." said Archer at once, "I've made it clear to Starfleet I will not force you to go."

"How long will it take us to get to Earth?" asked Raizel, her fingers still buried in Shran's shirt.

"At warp 4 it'll take 68 days."

"Your ship can go at warp 5." said Shran carefully.

"Yes, but I see no reason to push the ship to its limits, besides which, I think taking some time to prepare Raizel for Earth would be beneficial. It'll give you time to ask any questions you might have, allow for any uneasy nerves to settle for everyone."

"I suppose I should make some sort of attempt to learn Human Standard." said Raizel carefully. "Corat has taught me some, but neither of us has had much time to apply ourselves."

Archer glanced at Shran in surprise, the Andorian shrugged, "I don't like Translators, I make a point of learning all alien languages I may need. After Weytahn, I realised you and I would probably meet again, so I ought to learn your language."

Senkrad and Lissiel both smirked, sharing looks with the two other Andorians who had remained silent and unnamed so far, who smirked back. Archer flushed as he realised they were clearly noting his decidedly lacking knowledge of Andorian… anything. He resolved to learn more as fast as he could, if nothing else, it would show respect.

"Where will they stay?" asked a chan who had so far been silent. He seemed to be the oldest in the room, and as he turned to look at Shran and Raizel, Archer noticed that there was something moving under his shirt on his back.

"On Enterprise?"

"No, on Earth?"

"I would imagine the Andorian Embassy will be fine."

"Who is the Ambassador to Earth? Or the Emissary?" asked the chan, his left antennae scooping the air as if to draw in questions.

Before anyone could answer, the door opened behind Archer and Hoshi. They looked around and moved aside as a shen walked in, looking grumpy.

"It's feeding time for the sprogs. You were to come back to me." she said to the chan who looked embarrassed.

"I am sorry rare-one." he said, then turned and put his back to her. The shen reached out and undid the back of his silk shirt, pulling it open and folding the material away. Archer was surprised to see the thick white-blonde fur on the chan's back. He was more surprised to see that there seemed to be six tiny Andorians clinging onto the fur. When they were exposed to the air they all began squeaking loudly.

"Come along sprogs. Your kika forgot all about your feeding." said the shen imperiously. She was pulling at her top, lifting it up and exposing her midriff, which was covered in the same blond fur. The chan shifted back so his back was pressed against the shen's front and he rubbed against her gently. After a moment the baby Andorians started clambering down the chan's back and grabbing at the shen's stomach fur. Once they had a grip, they pulled themselves to her, and clambered upwards, disappearing under the top. The squeaking stopped as the sixth one grabbed on and the shen pulled her top down, hiding the babies from view.

"There. Come and get them when they're done, Kelves." she said, frowning at the chan, Kelves.

"I will," sighed Kelves. The shen nodded and walked out without so much as glancing at Archer and Hoshi. All this had happened in just under a minute.

"I think it's Ambassador Thoris." said Shran as the door shut. Apparently what had just happened was commonplace.

"And the Emissary is from the Chotethaar Province." Raizel said.

"Close to the Danciad?"

"I don't know. All I was told was he would look out for me when I was on Earth." said Raizel.

Hoshi pulled out her translator and started fiddling with it. Archer figured it was because it had not translated the word 'Danciad'.

"Something wrong?" asked Shran, his voice accented as he switched from Andorian to English, catching Archer off guard.

"The translator doesn't recognise the word danciad." said Hoshi. Archer noted the blankness of the other Andorians who did not understand the language. But what was interesting was the faint look of recognition on Raizel's face. She was looking between Shran and Hoshi with narrowed eyes.

"The Danciad is the Imperial Clan." said Shran, his accent missing the emphasis on the middle of Imperial. Archer had noted that there was very little emphasis on Andorian words.

"Oh, right, of course. 'Rare family'." sighedHoshi, looking annoyedwith the device. "That shouldn't have been missed."

"And that is why I don't trust translators." said Shran, still in English. "I once got knifed by a Klingon because of it. Called him a coward by mistake."

Archer raised his eyebrows in alarm at the idea. Shran gave a half shrug of his antennae and turned to Raizel. "Come, we will speak with the Clan Leaders."

Raizel nodded, paling again as she grabbed for his shirt again. Shran covered her hand with his and stared into her green eyes carefully for a long moment. Raizel straightened up and nodded,

"Should I change?"

"Not a bad thought." said Senkrad.

"I suppose so." said Shran, sounding as if he could have cared less. "Captain, we will contact you when we have news. Thank you for coming."

Archer nodded, understanding they were being dismissed, "If we can do anything to make things easier…"

Shran nodded, still holding Raizel's hand to his chest. Archer gave the group a nod and turned, followed by Hoshi, and left the knoll.

* * *

Comments are always appreciated

Night's Darkness


	12. Chapter 11

Sorry about the time between updates, but between college and recovering from eye surgeries (no worries, it was all fine), I haven't been able to give fics much attention.

Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 11**

_(Board Room; Enterprise)_

"So, the Clan Leaders said yes?"

"So Shran said." Archer replied with a nod. He did not add that it was clear Shran had made light of what had been a very difficult conversation.

Trip gave a sigh of relief, "So we'll be welcoming them aboard soon?"

"Tomorrow, 0900. Shran said Raizel wished to say goodbye to her playmates."

"Fair enough, gives me time to tinker with the environmental controls in their quarters. I'd imagine they would prefer a cooler room temperature than we're used to."

"Good idea. We'll have their quarters side by side, so they aren't too far apart."

"We don't want Shran to think we're trying to pull her away from him." said Hoshi, nodding. Apparently she had been as struck by Shran's declaration as Archer had.

"I've also been advised that the Imperial Guard has arranged an escort."

"Escort?"

"It's protocol when Emissaries are being sent to work."

"Shran get promoted?"

T'Pol spoke for Archer, "Primaries sent off world are considered Emissaries, while Actives or Secondaries are Ambassadors."

"What's the difference?"

"Ambassadors are directly involved in politics. Emissaries are there to learn about the culture to bring it back to the Collaborations."

"So… Raizel is an Emissary for Andoria?"

"For the Collaboration Collective."

Trip pursed his lips for a second, then said, "Complicated society, isn't it?"

"No more than any other advanced society." said T'Pol, twitching an eyebrow.

"At any rate, it was offered that Shran and Raizel stay on the escort ship, but they both decided to stay on Enterprise. I get the feeling that Raizel will obey her… Dominants as best she can."

"Two months is a long time to be onboard a strange ship." said Malcolm.

"Shran said they have been invited onboard the escort ship, the Ariston, by its captain anytime they wish. I think we could make good use of the situation to get to know Andorian customs better, I'll admit our previous encounters never gave us much time to really learn about them."

"Even so sir, what will Raizel and Shran do on Enterprise all that time?"

"Hoshi will teach Raizel English and some German if they have time. Trip, why don't you and Travis teach her about human customs, like Christmas."

"We could up Movie Night to a weekly thing, show her some of the stuff that's well known. People make so many references to stuff like that, it'd probably help if she understood some of them."

"Good idea."

"It would be prudent for Chef and myself to see how she handles various food types." said Phlox, "I would not be surprised if her stomach, adapted by so much Andorian food, will struggle with some human products. Best to know so we can treat it."

Archer nodded, hoping she would be able to enjoy some of Earth's food.

"What about Shran? What'll he do all day?" wondered Travis.

"Shran will probably sit in with her lessons some of the time, and Malcolm, I'd imagine you could keep him busy with the MACOs."

"We could ask him to show us how Guardsmen are trained." said Malcolm, but he sounded uneasy.

"I know this isn't going to be easy. But this is important, both for Raizel, and for Earth. I'm sure we'll manage it." said Archer, giving them his best confident face. Trip looked eager to try, but Malcolm looked doubtful.

Archer could only hope that things would go well for them all. The Coalition might depend on it.

* * *

_(Unknown Location)_

"The child will be returning to Earth. She will arrive in two months."

"Good, then it will be before the Coalition begins… before we make our move against it."

"Sir… are you sure it is wise to target this girl in conjunction with our other plans? It could draw attention before we are ready."

"The girl has been raised by people not her own, perverted by their ways. We must ensure she is redeemed."

"But could we not wait…"

"Do you doubt our cause?"

"No! I just… it is Raizel Andreas."

"I am well aware of who she is, or have you forgotten-"

"N-no. I would never forget… I just…"

"Just?"

"Nothing sir, I am sorry."

"Good. Dismissed."

The sound of a door opening and closing.

Then,

"I fear he may need to be dealt with. He is beginning to doubt our cause."

"Yes sir. I will attend to it."

"Excellent."

* * *

_(Andoria, Shaastheos Province, Zain Collaboration) _

Raizel felt tears brimming in her eyes as she approached her Collaboration. She had obeyed her Dominants' words and remained calm and collected as a primary ought as she agreed to leave her home. But she could not ignore the sting of betrayal inside her gut that had begun to prick as soon as Riril had told her she ought to go. It hurt like a physical wound, and she had had many in her life.

Many of the primaries were playing and glowying around her as she entered the cave. Some were swimming around in the geothermal pool, others were playing on instruments. Raizel gazed around at them in anger. It was as if her leaving did not matter. Her eyes lifted to find the Dominants, who were sitting on their stone chairs which kept them above the rest. The chairs had been formed over generations of Dominants sitting and carving at the rock, and her Dominants now sat there and were currently playing with some of the younger primaries. Raizel felt a stab of vicious hatred for the younger primaries and an aching longing to replace them.

Before she really knew what she was doing she was striding through the cave and climbing up to the Dominants. Riril spotted her quickly and his antennae expanded in pleasure.

"Ah, there you are Raizel-"

"You recall my name then." she snapped, shaking with rage.

"What?" asked Riril, baffled as the primary on his lap, Chedem, stopped nipping at his ribcage to look around. Zheenth peered up from where she had been teasing a chan primary Raizel did not know with her fingers.

"You were so quick to get rid of me I had expected you to forget me just as fast." said Raizel, tears burning her eyes.

Nyn's antennae drooped and he sighed in disappointment, "That is not what we are doing."

Zheenth continued, "We are doing what is best for everyone, including you. You deny what you are and that is against what it means to be a primary."

"You are abandoning me! You're casting me away because you don't care about me!" shouted Raizel, not noticing that she now had the entire collaboration's attention.

"Raizel, stop." said Atel sharply.

"No! You're sending me away! Why should I listen to you?" demanded Raizel, quivering with the desire to thrash and scream herself hoarse. "You don't deserve to be Dominants, you're abandoning me now that I'm boring you. You said you would look after me and you didn't. You-"

As one the four Dominants rose to their feet and went straight for her. In a few seconds Raizel was wrestled to the floor and pinned down on her back. Riril held her upper body still as she thrashed and kicked out. Atel grabbed her ankles and pressed them down, while Zheenth's strong fingers wrapped around her head and neck. Raizel struggled but the Dominants had rendered her immobile, and she began to shake with the pent up fury she was feeling. Then Nyn pulled her top up to expose her stomach and he pinched the skin.

"OW!"

The Dominants said nothing, as Nyn continued to pinch her skin and Raizel could not stop him. Her whole body was tight and trembling and she could feel her anger building up and up. She wanted to lash out, kick and punch, but that was impossible, there was only one way these feelings could be released and so Raizel opened her mouth and screamed.

The screaming rolled through the cave over and over and the other primaries shuddered as they watched Raizel release her helpless rage. Then, just as abruptly, it stopped and Raizel gasped for air, quiet little noises escaping her as she realised there were tears on her face. As she lay there, now limp, Zheenth released her head and Atel let go of her ankles. Riril gathered her up into his arms and set her on his lap, holding her still as she hiccupped and whimpered, trying to get herself under control. After a few moments, she climbed out of Riril's arms and assumed the respectful stance of a primary, linking her fingers and resting them on the back of her head, letting them hold her head up as she offered up her body to anything. She stood before the silent, watching primaries of her collaboration and waited. Chedem shifted to the side, and with a nod from Zheenth she approached Raizel and lifted her hand to curl her fingers around Raizel's neck. The fingers were strong, but did not press down. Raizel met Chedem's gaze and did not flinch. Her anger had betrayed her trust in the Collaboration and now, having released her anger, she had to prove she trusted her fellow primaries.

Chedem waited a long moment, then her hand slid down Raizel's neck, down over her chest, to rub her stomach, soothing the pain that was still there. Many more hands started to run over her body, and Raizel relaxed back into them, the heat of the azure skin and the endorphins from her release pulling her into a calm daze.

"I don't want to leave." she sighed as Riril's lips brushed her cheek.

"You are a primary. You must embrace everything that you are, and to do that you must go to Earth." he said gently, "Just remember no matter how long you are gone, you are always going to be a part of Andoria."

Raizel felt doubt tug at her, but she pushed it away and submitted to her Collaboration's _Suroche_.

* * *

_(Andoria, Shaastheos Province, Zain City, Hvishrath Conglomerate)_

Shran was going through Raizel's things, packing away clothing and anything else she might need. He rolled up one of her robes and pushed it into the bag, mentally counting what else he had put in there.

"You know who your escort is?" asked Senkrad, sitting cross-legged on Raizel's desk, watching him.

"Yes. The Ariston." sighed Shran, crouching down and checking under the desk.

"You mean Telev's ship."

"Telev is the captain, yes. What of it?"

Senkrad sighed and leaned forward swatting Shran across his back. "Shran! I am your chanta! I practically absorbed you into my litter where you had none. Do not act as if Telev means nothing to you in front of me. I know you too well!"

Shran straightened up and glared at Senkrad, antennae rearing back. "It doesn't matter. What's the point of talking about it?"

He turned away and threw a PADD into the bag. Senkrad sighed, and leaned back against the wall.

"Why doesn't it matter?"

"Do you really think Telev's Clan would allow him to think of me as more than a playmate?"

"So what? If you don't care what our Clan Leaders think, why would you care what his think?"

"I don't. He does."

"Are you sure?"

Shran did not answer, making a show of examining Raizel's nest. He was debating bringing it along. It would be awkward, but Shran decided that it was worthwhile, as the nest was made of silks and furs, pieces from his own nest, from his siblings, and from old clothes. Not to mention he was certain the materials used on the beds in Enterprise would aggravate Raizel's skin. He himself had broken out in a rash when they had been chasing the Marauder.

"I'd better call Archer."

"For what?"

"I want to move the nest in the morning."

"Ah, good idea, she loves her nest."

"Exactly. Plus, those human materials are rough on the skin."

"I remember." said Senkrad sagely. Shran flicked his left antenna at him, "What? I meant I remember how itchy you were. You're bad enough grieving and drinking, being itchy was just adding to the nightmare."

Shran threw him a full scowl, which Senkrad responded to by chucking a stylus at his head. Shran's reflexes allowed him to bat the thing away without blinking. Senkrad sighed and spread his antennae.

"Not in the mood?"

"For what, being target practise?"

"For being happy. You haven't been happy for… well actually with you I honestly couldn't say when you were last happy. Closest you get is content. With the addition of being jittery."

"Jittery?" repeated Shran resigning himself to yet more arguments.

Senkrad bit on his first right digit and wiggled his antennae, "Well, when you're content, you tend to get bored. Like… you can't stay still for long. You, my oezhaan, hate being idle, or at least, your perception of idle."

"You have no idea how much I love my knolls ability to dissect me to a molecule." said Shran with a full body ripple of irritation.

"We've had to learn because you don't tell us what you're thinking! If you just talked to us, we wouldn't need to break you down."

Shran shuddered and twitched his head to the side at the choice of words. "Senkrad…"

"Sorry. Didn't mean it like that."

Shran accepted his apology and said without looking at him, "Either help me with packing, or melt away, your decision."

Senkrad did not move for a few moments. Then he jumped off the desk, uncurling his legs and striding to the nest. "You'll need to make sure it doesn't fall apart when you move it. I'll look at it, you pack."

Shran said nothing, but passed his hand over his chanta's neck as he moved past him.

* * *

_Suroche: means 'Primary Love' lit: 'body play'_

Reviews are very welcome, and honestly they do help me post faster. So, logically, more reviews, faster updates! XD

Night's Darkness


	13. Chapter 12

Gah! I've had this chapter ready for a while, but then got drowned in evil assignments and forgot all about it. I'm beyond sorry, since I know I did say I'd update more regularly if I got reviews. I meant it when I said it, and I still meant it. To prove it, I have the 13th chapter at the ready and will post some time next week.

Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 12 **

_(On Enterprise)_

It was on the tip of Archer's tongue to make a crack about 'Are you moving to Earth?' when he saw all the luggage, but he bit down on said tongue in punishment. Such a stupid comment would probably make the very sulky looking teenager turn right around and get back into the shuttle, demanding to be returned.

"Welcome aboard." he said instead, smiling at Raizel as she climbed out of the shuttle, silk robe gathered in one hand to free her feet. She visibly recoiled at the heat of the bay, even though Trip had thoughtfully turned it down from the usual 23 degrees Celcius to 10. Any cooler would have been difficult to generate in time without costing energy they really couldn't lose without serious reason. Shran noticed the difference at once.

"Much better!" he said, smirking and sounding far more like his old self. "Now this is a far preferable temperature pink-skin."

Archer huffed and shook his head as some crewmen pulled a large… something out of the storage compartment of the shuttle. "What is that?"

"It's my nest." said Raizel defensively, "I sleep in it."

Shran rested his hand on the back of her neck, "No offense Captain, but your bedding makes me break out in a rash and I'm used to alien beds. I don't think Raizel's skin would handle it any better."

Looking at the pale, almost frosted glass like, skin Archer concurred. It had been something Phlox had mentioned to him before, that it wouldn't just be foods that could prove problematic for Raizel's adapted body.

"From what I know, the Andorians prefer organic bedding, furs and silks and the like. Synthetics –even the detergents –used on Enterprise will probably cause a reaction." the Denobulan had said.

"Good idea, some home comforts are always a help." Archer said, still eying the nest curiously.

"… Do you want to look at it?" asked Raizel, very quietly and very reluctantly.

"If you don't mind."

She tossed her head a little, which Archer took as a yes. He moved closer to the nest and crouched down, gripping his own knees so he would fight the urge to poke at it. He would see with his eyes, not his hands today, just to be safe. Porthos, who he had brought with him to help ease the tension, sniffed at it curiously and let out a little woof.

The nest was quite literally that. A doughnut shaped construction of fur, leather and silk, with various colours and textures. It was not unlike a big bean bag to Archer's eyes and he guessed it was big enough that Raizel would be able to stretch out rather comfortably on it, but considering the hollow in the middle, she probably curled up in a ball.

"What's it made of? I mean, where do the materials come from?"

"Some are old clothes of mine, or corat's." said Raizel. "Others are pelts that have been hunted by me or someone else. I know some is from an old chair."

"So you recycle materials from other things to make them?" Archer had to admit that was pretty clever.

"It was believed to be better for sprogs moving into nests of their own if the materials smelt of their parents and other siblings." said Shran, now standing behind his daughter, his hands on her shoulders. Raizel had covered one with her own. "Nests are supposed to be safe refuges, our word for them means 'safe-soft'. Your family should be the same."

Archer nodded, "Home is where the heart is."

"What?" Raizel scowled at him, and Archer could have sworn she retreated back a little, pressing into Shran a bit more. Even as he opened his mouth he realised he was probably not about to make her feel any more endeared towards this trip.

"It's an Earth saying. It means either you want to be home, or it can mean that your home is where you're happy, not necessarily where your family is."

Unsurprisingly Raizel gave him a look full of derision and Shran stared at him like he was stupid. Archer coughed, feeling his cheeks flush. "Well! Uh, come and I'll show you where you'll be staying."

Raizel and Shran both picked up some of their luggage, with Archer assuring them the crewmen would get the rest, including the nest.

"They won't break it up, will they?" asked Raizel, watching the crewmen warily.

"No, they'll look after it, don't worry." said Archer quickly. "Come on. Oh! This is Porthos by the way, he's my dog."

Porthos padded over to them at the sound of his name. He looked up at Shran and gave a greeting woof, scampering around the Andorian's feet. Although the dog had only seen the Andorian twice, Porthos seemed to have taken a shine to the gruff thaan. Raizel stared down at the dog, unsure what to make of him. Archer crouched down and petted Porthos' ears.

"He doesn't bite. You can pet him."

He gathered Porthos into his arms and straightened up, letting Porthos stretch his neck as he sniffed at a lock of her hair and gave a woof of greeting. Raizel pulled back in alarm, then lifted her hand cautiously and she touched his nose. Porthos licked her palm and Raizel jumped.

"Don't worry, he's just being friendly." said Archer. Shran's hand appeared next to Raizel's, not quite touching hers but cupping the air around it, gently and wordlessly encouraging her to bring her hand to Porthos again. Archer found he was holding his breath as Raizel offered her palm straight at Porthos' nose. The beagle blinked, then licked her hand again. Raizel giggled and behind her, Shran smiled, antennae spreading as if her laugh relaxed him. Raizel moved her hand up and patted Porthos' head. Porthos' tail began wagging with pleasure.

"He's got soft fur." she said, more to herself than to them. Archer decided for this alone, he would give the beagle some cheese with his dinner.

They continued on to the two guest quarters. They went into Raizel's first, she looked unimpressed by them, but her eyes did soften when she peered out the window at the planet below.

"Bathroom's through here." Archer opened the door. Raizel set down her bag and peered into the small room.

"What's that?" she asked, pointing at the toilet. Archer was saved from answering by Shran saying something in Andorian which made her go, "Ah! And that?" she pointed at the shower.

"A shower, it's how we keep clean. I'll show you how it works." Archer switched on the water and showed her how to adjust the temperature. "I'm sure you're used to cooler water so-"

"Not really, I swim in geothermal pools. They're very warm, even with the ice." said Raizel, sticking her hand under the stream and wiggling her fingers at the new sensation.

"And while she does it, she goes diving for biting fish." said Shran from the door, leaning on the frame, Porthos at his feet.

"I don't go looking for them! They just… turn up." said Raizel lamely, pulling her hand out of the water and wiping it on her lovely fur cloak. Archer wondered if that was just the Andorian way, or a lazy teen habit. Either way Shran didn't correct her.

"You should talk to Trip, my Chief Engineer, he's a big fan of diving."

Raizel nodded, walking out of the room and taking off her cloak, dropping it onto the floor and kicking it aside. Shran bent down and picked it up, shaking it out and folding it, setting it on the desk. Raizel did not notice, she was eyeing the bed with something like distrust and kicked at the side with her boot-covered toe.

"You sleep on this?"

"Yes. Standard issue, so it's not the most comfy of beds, but it's pretty good." said Archer, not sure what else to say.

"All the crew have one each?"

"That's right, the senior staff get their own rooms, the rest share a room, two to each."

"So they sleep together?"

"They have bunk beds, one bed suspended above another."

Raizel exuded disapproval. "Only highest ranking officers should have their own quarters, to remind the crew of their importance. Everyone else should be together. How else do you ensure bonding and loyalty?"

"So… on an Andorian starship, everyone sleeps in one big room?"

"Yes."

Archer glanced at Shran who nodded in confirmation. "Sounds… close."

Shran snorted, and Raizel threw him a nasty look, "Yes. It's meant to be."

Clearly Archer was missing something behind that statement. So he simply said, "Shran, you're next door, I'll show you."

"Fine, Raizel, you unpack."

"Yes Corat."

Archer and Shran moved to the room on the right of Raizel's and Shran tossed his luggage onto the bed and sat down next to it with a weary grunt. Archer hesitated a moment, then sat down on the chair opposite him.

"She doesn't like me, does she?" he said with a weak chuckle.

"No." said Shran bluntly, leaning back against the wall and glaring at the ceiling. "Then again, there isn't much she likes at the moment."

"She's a teenager, they're all like that." said Archer with a shrug.

"Delightful!" the Andorian drawled.

"So… your Clan Leaders were just fine with you going with her?"

Shran shrugged, "Does it really matter?"

Archer felt a smile pulling at his face as he regarded the thaan. "I guess not."

Shran bent one knee and rested his elbow on it, eyes fixed on the small window. "When will we leave?"

"When the Ariston joins us."

"So a while."

At Archer's frown, Shran gave a shrug with his antennae, "Captain Telev tends to run late."

"Ah… well, I'll take Raizel on a tour of the rest of the ship and then Trip has organised a movie after dinner."

Shran nodded, giving nothing away of what he thought of these plans by word or expression.

"I've set up something of a schedule for her too, so she can learn about Earth."

"Like what?"

"Hoshi will help her learn English and German. Trip and Travis have decided to take it upon themselves to teach her about human culture, films, stories, music, holidays, that sort of thing. And I was thinking I could teach her about Earth's history. Actually, I was hoping you could sit in on it with us."

"I don't know anything about your history."

"Well, that's sort of the point. I was hoping that you could teach me your people's history as I teach mine. Our people are trying to work together and we seem to be the forerunners for cooperation. I think it would be good for us if we exchange more than just information as is necessary."

Shran inclined his head, looking thoughtful, "If we make it more of a dialogue Raizel would probably react better. She's not a youth, she doesn't need to be taught like one, learning dates and a stream of information from a boring manuscript."

"I'm sure between us we can make a good comparison."

Shran nodded and stretched his neck. "All right."

Archer regarded Shran and said, "You never finished telling me about how you adopted her. We got as far as you finding her."

Shran pulled his gloves off slowly as he looked at the window and sighed, clearly thinking. Finally he tossed the gloves aside and leaned back into the wall again.

"Because she was a sprog, we couldn't lock her up. So we had to… adapt to having her around…"

* * *

_(Nine years ago; Onboard the Kumari.)_

Shran glanced up as the door to the Food Hall opened and Medic walked in, carrying the alien sprog. He had found her some garments to wear and she was almost engulfed by the fur and silk. Her pale face peeped out of the furred hood, large eyes roaming around the large room. Since she had been found three days ago Medic had kept her isolated, both to ensure she carried no diseases that could mutate to attack Andorian physiology and to give her some time to adjust before she was surrounded by strange faces. Now, many of the crew turned to look at her, some curiously, some with vague mistrust that 'alien' always brought out in them. Not even a sprog was exempt from mistrust if it was alien. As she glanced around and saw the eyes of the guards on her, her cheeks flushed bright pink and she hid her face in Medic's shoulder.

Tarah, sitting next to Shran, chuckled, "Little sprog changes colour."

Shran looked at his first lieutenant. She was reclined back into her chair and watching the sprog like she was sizing up an amusing enemy. "What is it? A chan?"

"Medic determined a zhen. Like you." said Shran, looking back at the sprog. She was looking straight at Shran over Medic's shoulder as Medic filled a bowl with food for himself. As Shran caught her gaze, she waved her hand at him a little, lips pulling into what seemed to be a smile. Shran bent his antennae in acknowledgment, but did not give any sort of warm gesture. The alien looked disappointed and lowered her head to Medic's shoulder, hiding her eyes. Tarah snorted,

"She seems to like you Commander."

Shran gave her a bland look and then looked down at his PADD. He only looked up again when a tray landed on the table and Medic sat down, setting the sprog on his thighs.

"There's no other space, do you mind Commander?" Medic asked calmly. He knew Shran would mind, but he wouldn't say so in from of the sprog, even though she was the reason he minded. Shran gave his permission and resumed his reading as Medic cajoled the sprog to eat.

"Come along climber, eat." he says firmly. Shran kept his head down, but peered up in time to see the sprog grimace and lean away from the offered tuber root. Her hood had fallen away and her faintly pink face seemed thin, and the brown fur on her head seemed lank and greasy. "It's not bad, you need to eat." said Medic, taking a bite out of the root and offering the rest again. The sprog grunted and pulled away.

"Maybe she only eats meat." drawled Tarah, watching the two like they were amusing her.

"No, she's omnivorous." said Medic, even as he picked up some wumvin and offered that to her instead. That was rejected as well. Medic sighed and ate the meat, then said, "Now you listen here, you need to eat. You are going to eat. I know you're finding this all very hard, but food will help you feel better."

Shran watched as the sprog looked at the food, wrinkled her nose, then looked at Shran, who lifted his head and regarded her coldly. The sprog stared at him, then leaned forward, sniffing and staring at his bowl of redbat. She looked up at him, then back down at the bowl, curious and hungry. Shran's antennae twisted in exasperation and he pushed the bowl to her. The sprog seemed unsure, but eventually reached out and picked up a bit of redbat, eating it.

"Mmmm!" Her eyes lit up and she pulled the bowl to her and began to devour the rest of Shran's meal. When she was finished, she licked her fingers delicately and bared her teeth at Shran, which he determined was probably a happy gesture. "Thank you!"

Shran grunted and rose from his seat, "Tarah, take the bridge when you're done. I'll be in my ready room."

"Yes commander." said Tarah, straightening her spine. The sprog was watching Shran with wide green eyes and Shran did not like the way that was making him feel. He left the food hall, determined to put the sprog out of his mind and let Medic look after her.

The trouble was, the sprog nagged at him constantly. He did not see much of her beyond occasional encounters in the food hall, and Medic's reports that suggested she was not coping with things well. Beyond that though, Shran found his mind wandering to her often. He tried to forget about her, but he kept thinking about her. And he knew why.

Losing parents was always difficult, but losing them to aliens was another thing entirely. Shran knew this because although he had never met his kika, he had lost his other three parents because of aliens. He knew seeing a parent die was one of the worst things to experience. He had held his corat in his arms as death had steadied his shaky grip on him. It had been bad enough to experience it once, but since they had picked up the sprog, the nightmares about it had returned. It was enough to give him an ache in his ears.

He finally decided to go to Medic and get a sedative for a dreamless sleep, making his way to Sickbay, when he bumped into the sprog herself. Literally.

The sprog ran around a corner and bounced off him, letting out a squeal like a Tellerite and backing up as quick as she could. Shran froze and stared down at her. She stared back, wide eyed and tense. Finally Shran sighed and said,

"Ran away from Medic, did you?"

Sticking out her lower lip, the skin tightening around her eyes, she nodded. Medic had attached a translator to her too-big clothes so she would never get stuck without being able to understand those around her. "Don't want any more pokes!"

Shran huffed with amusement, smirking, "I can sympathise with that."

The sprog gave him a look of confusion, so Shran said, "I don't like Medics much myself."

"He's bossy!" she said loudly. "My bruder is bossy too, I don't… I…" she trailed off and her eyes got shiny with water. "He… he yelled at me and, and I said I hated him and then… then everything shook."

Shran watched as the water rolled down her cheeks and he felt his stomach pull. The sprog rubbed her face with her hand, sniffling, "I don't really hate him. I don't."

"I would imagine he knew that." said Shran quietly, crouching down in front of her. "He knew you did not mean it I'm sure."

Raizel sniffed loudly and looked at him, "Really? Do you think so?"

Shran bowed his antennae, "I think so."

What he did next was out of a mixture of fascination, pity and a reluctant desire to comfort. He reached out with his gloveless hand and used his first digit to wipe away one of the droplets of water. Betazoids had a word for the droplets which they shed from their eyes and Shran knew they served the same expression of emotion. Andorians do not have this feature, and Shran had always been intrigued by it, finding it both bizarre and somewhat beautiful. But he should have known better to touch an unfamiliar alien species, skin to skin.

As soon as he touched her face, Shran's mind tingled, like a dead nerve right through his brain. He pulled back in alarm as she squeaked in surprise and touched her own cheek.

"Oh…" she furrowed her brow, then looked at Shran who felt frozen in place, horrified at what he had felt. Raizel stuck out her lower lip and reached out to touch his hand again, but Shran pulled back as fast as he could and straightened up.

"You need to go back to Medic." he snapped. Raizel pulled back and seemed crushed. "Come on."

Shran herded her back to Sickbay, careful not to touch her, silently berating himself for being so foolish.

* * *

_(Present Day; On Enterprise)_

"I don't understand, why was that such a problem?" asked Archer. Shran shook his head,

"Andorian telepathy is usually contained, limited to the ability to bond, but it can react strangely with aliens. With Vulcans it's not dissimilar to the reaction caused by two magnets of the same polarity being pushed together. With Betazoids it's rather… surreal, due to their strong abilities and our receptiveness."

"And with humans it can make you bond to us?" asked Archer, mind working furiously, "But… we've shaken hands, so why-"

The door chime cut him off. Shran called, "Come Raizel."

Raizel walked into the room, having changed into a leather and silk top and leather trousers. She glared at Archer suspiciously as she sat down next to Shran and asked,

"When will Telev get here?"

"Soon."

"Good. I haven't seen him in a long time."

"Nor have I. It will be nice to see him again." agreed Shran. An emotion crossed Raizel's face, but Archer was unable to determine if it was excitement, anger, or anticipation. All she said was,

"They brought my nest in. I had them put it on the floor, even though there's not much room."

"Good."

Raizel narrowed her eyes, "I haven't slept with the sound of nacelles around me since I was a youth on the Kumari."

Shran face gave a minute twitch and Raizel seemed satisfied by that, because she moved away slightly, reached behind her and drew out an Ushaan-tor from behind her, along with a sharpening stick. She began to sharpen it, the harsh sound filling the room. Archer stared at her and decided that where she had seemed cold and aloof before like an ice princess, now she looked more like an assassin.

"Uh… Trip has planned a movie for after dinner tonight. Do Andorians have movies?"

"That depends." said Raizel, not looking up.

"On what?"

"What's a movie?" she asked sardonically. Next to her, Shran smirked in amusement.

"It's a story, acted out by people, recorded and projected onto a screen basically."

"It's a form of entertainment?"

"Yes."

"People pretend to be someone else?"

"Yes."

"Then we do have something like that." said Raizel.

"Well, movies are a big part of human culture, we thought you might enjoy them. I think he's starting with an old classic for kids. You might even remember it."

"I doubt that. I don't remember anything from my childhood before I was on the Kumari." She made a particularly vicious pull on the blade. Shran's antennae moved in that way Archer had learned was the Andorian equivalent of rolling the eyes. The thaan reached out and pulled the sharpening stick out of her hand. "Corat!"

"Don't be difficult." said Shran, twirling the stick around his fingers.

"I'm not! I think I'm being very obliging." she growled, reaching for the stick. Shran held it away from her. "Corat give it to me!"

"What does a primary need a sharpened blade for?" asked Shran pointedly. Raizel flushed and clenched her outstretched hand into a fist.

"I like keeping my Ushaan-tor sharp. I always have."

"You have no need, the Ushaan-tor is for protection, do I not provide that?" Shran asked, voice tight. Once again, Archer felt like he was watching something very private. He felt all the worse when Raizel said coldly,

"When you're around and sober."

Shran's face paled and he gripped the sharpening stick tight in his hand, then offered it to her, eyes boring into hers. Raizel's cheeks flushed deeper as she slowly curled her fingers around the stick, but she did not pull it away. Instead they remained very still, staring each other down, with Archer frozen in his seat unable to look away. At last, Raizel let the stick go and set the Ushaan-tor on the bed. Without a word she got to her feet and walked out of the room. In the deathly silence left behind, they heard her go into her own quarters. Shran's antennae fell towards his eyes and he picked up the Ushaan-tor, handling it with care.

"I gave this to her when I finished the paperwork to legally adopt her." he said quietly. "Within a few seconds she had cut herself on it." His eyes glazed over and Archer knew he was remembering the incident. "She said I had to… 'make it better'."

The Andorian looked up at Archer and Archer nodded, understanding that Raizel had taught him the age old human tradition of 'kiss it better'. He recalled the toddler in the pictures, and could easily see Shran holding her tight, pressing his lips to the cut and soothing her until she stopped crying. Then Raizel would have been happy again and probably scurried off to play, until the next injury that needed a kiss.

Archer could see that Shran missed those days, when he had been able to fix things easily for his child, and found himself wishing that things were that simple still.

* * *

Remember, reviews are very encouraging and I promise next week the next chapter will be up.

Night's Darkness


	14. Chapter 13

Exams suck! Studying sucks! Roll on Christmas hols. That is all.

Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 13**

_(On Enterprise)_

The Ariston joined Enterprise at the edge of Andorian space, with Captain Telev sending a standard greeting to Archer, and then having a private discussion with Shran in his quarters. Within an hour of Enterprise departing Andoria, a rumour had spread around that as Enterprise had begun to move, there had been a horrible moan of pain from Raizel's quarters, and Shran had been seen rushing into them. Since there had been no call for Phlox, Archer guessed that it was an emotional pain causing the moan, and felt like a bastard for doing this to her. Out of respect he decided to postpone the tour.

Dinner was served at 1900 hours, and Archer went to escort Shran and Raizel to dinner at the Captain's table. Shran told Archer to wait outside Raizel's quarters, and it was fifteen minutes later that the two emerged. Raizel had changed again, now wearing the dress robe she had been wearing when Archer had seen her first. She had painted her face with beautiful intricate work around her eyes and temples, which flowed into her hair where she had woven threads of coloured silk into her up-do.

"You look lovely." said Archer honestly.

"That's the point." said Raizel, looking at him in confusion. Archer guessed compliments were different on Andoria. He tried not to notice the redness of her eyes under the make up, or the way she was griping Shran's hand.

"Well, I hope you're hungry, Chef has been cooking up a feast all day. He even went looking for some Andorian recipes."

"Considerate." said Raizel, though it was hard to tell how she actually felt. As they passed the occasional crewmember they all smiled warmly at the guests, some unable to hide the curiosity they were bursting with. Raizel ignored them completely, eyes roaming over the ship itself. Even when they got to the mess hall and a hush fell over the diners, she seemed oblivious to it, following Archer into his private mess. The Senior Staff were all gathered and they stood up as Archer walked in.

"This is my Senior Staff, Raizel. You've already met Dr. Phlox and Hoshi, and this is my first officer T'Pol, Chief Engineer Commander Tucker-"

"Call me Trip." said Trip, smiling at her.

"Lieutenant Reed."

"Malcolm."

"And Ensign Mayweather."

"Travis."

"I'm Raizel of the Hvishrath Clan, offspring of Commander Shran." was the calm reply. Raizel released Shran's hand, and Shran flexed it surreptitiously to restore blood flow.

"Please," Archer gestured to the seats on his right. Shran took the seat next to him, and Raizel went to the chair between her corat and Malcolm. They all sat down and Trip picked up a bottle of white wine.

"Drink anyone?"

"Me." said Raizel at once, taking the glass that was at Malcolm's place and holding it out expectantly. Trip hesitated, but then obliged, giving her a small amount. He glanced at Archer, giving a minute shrug and Archer gave a matching nod. Shran had said Raizel could drink Andorian Ale, she could probably handle some light wine.

"Shran?" asked Trip. The Andorian nodded, pushing the correct glass forward, which made Raizel note the glass on her right and seem to realise her error. She tossed her head slightly, as if flicking hair out of her eyes, and swallowed a mouthful of wine. The puckered reaction was like a five year old, but she tried to cover it up. Shran wrinkled his nose at his glass, but drained the drink anyway.

"What is this made from?" she asked.

"A fruit juice that's been fermented for a while. Wines are a bit of an art form. Different grapes and ages and all sorts of variations affect the taste."

"Hmmm…" Raizel sipped at the wine, but it wasn't clear if she found any improvement. The door opened and Chef came in with the starter.

"I call it Andorian Cabbage Soup!" he said with a wry grin. Raizel stared into the green broth and looked up at him.

"You picked the wrong colour for the name. You ought to have called it Vulcan Cabbage Soup."

Shran laughed. Chef seemed unsure if Raizel was insulted or not. However, she seemed content to try it and dug in. Shran did the same, and the two shared a look of confused surprise.

"Did you use tuber root with some ground ice-bore larvae?" asked Shran, licking the back of his spoon.

"Yes, why?"

"Senkrad does that." said Raizel, "It's not a usual recipe."

Chef seemed pleased. Archer sipped at the soup, unsure what to make of the strange taste.

"So, Raizel," said Trip, pouring Hoshi some wine, "Have you ever seen a film before?"

"Is that the same as a movie?"

"Yeah, they're more or less the same –unless you asked someone who studies them, they'd probably distinguish between one and the other."

"Then yes. Andorians have something similar."

"Well, I picked an animated one, it's moving drawings, with people providing voices."

Raizel tilted her head to the side, "Why would you do that?"

"You can defy the laws of nature with animation." said Trip with a grin. "But in this case it's more about how beautiful it can be."

"Which did you pick Trip?" asked Archer curiously, taking a healthy mouthful of his wine.

"Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs."

"It's not exactly a thrilling film." said Malcolm dubiously.

"It's a classic Malcolm." Trip replied tartly. "It was the film that made Disney what it was."

"Anti-Semitic?" asked Malcolm wryly. Trip glared at him.

"What's a dwarf?" asked Raizel, cutting the argument short.

"A dwarf is a human with a genetic condition that causes a human to be much smaller than average, with a distinctive body shape." said Phlox.

"So… this is about seven genetically deficient humans freezing to death?" Raizel looked at Shran who shrugged his antennae, looking as confused as her.

"No! Nothing like that!" said Trip, throwing Phlox another glare. "Dwarfs are… little men. They're part of the fairy tales and folk traditions. Snow White was a princess."

"Princess?" repeated Raizel. Shran touched her arm and said in Andorian.

"Danzhenmu muuini kachinsan izhiga 'Princess' ashuizhlan-ka izhiba."

"Oh! I see." Raizel nodded sagely at her corat. Then turned back to Trip looking baffled again. "What have little men got to do with an heiress?"

"You'll see. But this film is a classic. Everyone on Earth knows this story." said Trip reassuringly.

"Um… Raizel, do Andorians have a concept of stepparents?" asked Hoshi, "Because otherwise the story might not make sense."

Once again Raizel looked to Shran for help, but Shran made a rather big gesture of incomprehension.

"I'm getting something about putting your foot on a parent from that." he said.

"Stepparents are when a couple with children separate, and one or both remarries someone else. The new spouse is called a stepparent."

"What do you mean separate?"

"If I may," said Phlox, "In humans, sometimes mates no longer wish to be together, or something drives them apart. Thus they cease to be mates and can go and find new mates."

Raizel looked baffled and appalled, "Humans don't bond for life?"

"Well, ideally they would, but unfortunately many don't."

"So… if a bondmate died, the other wouldn't die with them?"

"No."

"But then… how can the bond be broken?"

"Humans aren't telepathic, they can't bond to one another the way Andorians do. Their bonds are purely emotional, not telepathic."

"But then how do you become fertile? You need to bond to become fertile."

"Humans become fertile around the age of twelve, they experience puberty and become fertile."

It seemed to take a long time for Raizel to comprehend what Phlox was saying, her gaze far away and glassy as she tugged on some of her hair. Clearly she was putting pieces together that didn't fit in with her upbringing. When she finally spoke, it was in a slow, apprehensive way,

"But… I am older than twelve, am I not?"

Shran grimaced and threw Archer an angry glare.

"You are fifteen, so yes."

"But… that means… I have been fertile for the past three years."

"Yes." said Phlox carefully. "Were your doctors unaware of this?"

"It wasn't an issue." said Shran sharply, "Her playmates were all infertile."

"Am I meant to have had sprogs already?" asked Raizel, sounding alarmed. "Am I meant to be bonded already?"

"No!" said Archer, Trip and Hoshi in various degrees of urgency.

"But if I'm fertile I ought to be reproducing." said Raizel, looking close to panic.

"It's not quite that simple." said Phlox quickly.

"You're too young to be having a kid." said Trip more bluntly. "Just because you can, doesn't mean you should."

Raizel still looked confused and turned to Shran for help. "Corat… I don't…"

Shran rested his hand on the back of her neck and shushed her quietly. "It's all right. There's no need to worry now. We'll deal with this later."

Raizel opened her mouth to protest, but Shran stared straight at her and she fell quiet, nodding.

After that they avoided topics about human culture and biology, which meant that they had to discuss the Coalition and other current issues.

"I don't know if the Coridians are ready to work with the Vulcans." said Shran, while Raizel studied a bit of broccoli in utter bewilderment. It was rather cute that she seemed so lost by human food, but also another reminder of just how little she knew about her own people.

"Well, one could have said the same about the Andorians and the Vulcans, but your people and T'Pol's have been doing pretty well." said Archer, although he was inclined to agree.

"That's not exactly the best example." snorted Raizel. "Considering the Vulcans recently tried to invade Andoria."

"… maybe so, but that was because of a corrupt government."

"Which has not yet been replaced by a permanent system. The Vulcans are in no condition to be forming big alliances with anyone." said Raizel biting the top of her broccoli off and chewing carefully.

"My people wish for peace." T'Pol began, but Raizel cut her off,

"You green-bloods don't even have peace on your own planet. And you're hated by many of the species in this quadrant. Who are you to be taking part in this 'Coalition'?"

T'Pol regarded Raizel carefully for a moment, then said, "We may have had our differences with the Andorians, but-"

"Don't forget the Coridians, the Tellerites, and the Klingons." said Raizel snidely.

"… Nevertheless, we only desire to cultivate peace in this sector of the quadrant."

"After all the Andorians you've murdered, now you want peace? Are you just waiting for the next generation to grow up so you can start on them?"

"Raizel…" warned Shran. Raizel rounded on him at once,

"Don't you dare act as if they are not the murderers they were when I was a youth! How many of the Kumari crew died in battles with them? How many died just while I was living on the ship?"

"Raizel, I am not saying that they-" Shran cut himself off and glanced at T'Pol and Archer, then said in a forcefully calm voice, "I'm saying that we have to try and move forward."

"To what, submission to green blooded overlords?" Raizel pushed away her plate and faced Shran fully. This was fast becoming an argument between parent and child, and Archer had a distinct impression it was an old one.

"Do you want to be a part of another generation of primaries who lose most of their playmates to war?" demanded Shran.

"They'd be dying for what's ours!"

Shran gave a start, which Archer almost mirrored, "You sound just like Tarah."

"Good!" Raizel got to her feet. "At least she knew what mattered."

Shran got to his own feet and seemed to tower over her, despite them being almost the same height. Raizel clenched her fists and her cheeks flushed. Shran regarded her, without speaking a word, as Raizel said forcefully, "She knew we had to fight for what's ours."

"Fight for what's ours…" said Shran in a near whisper, drawling out the words. "Is that our way?"

Confusion fell over Raizel's young face, "We –I… Yes! We fight for what we have."

"Do we?" asked Shran and Raizel was visibly maddened by his tone. Archer recognised a parent needling a child to realise they were being irrational. Considering Shran kept claiming that as a secondary he had no parent skills, he had the tone of voice down pat.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Raizel demanded, "Are you saying I don't know what it means to be Andorian? I'm not Andorian enough to understand why we fight."

"That's not what I'm saying. I'd never say that." said Shran, looking wrong footed. Archer glanced at the others and noted that Malcolm and Travis looked like they wanted the bulkheads to swallow them up, while Hoshi and Trip were looking at their meals. Phlox and T'Pol were watching the two calmly.

Raizel and Shran stared at each other, both exuding frustration with the other. Only a short while ago Shran had been her lifeline, now he was the cause of her anger. Archer was deeply grateful that his teen years were well behind him, the mood swings were dizzying. Finally Shran pointed at her plate and said,

"Finish your meal."

"I'm not hungry."

"That isn't the point."

Glancing down at the plate, where the steak was untouched and the salad had been dissected into small piles of the various vegetables, Raizel reached down and flicked off her translator. She said something in a disgusted voice and then turned around and walked out of the room. Shran's antennae tensed then he threw Archer a look the captain couldn't begin to interpret, and followed her, leaving a ringing silence behind him.

"… Maybe Snow White should wait." said Trip quietly.

"We'll let them decide." said Archer. "When they settle their argument."

"Is there any topic that won't be a trigger?" asked Malcolm almost inaudibly.

"I could talk about the engines." said Trip, "We could talk about Cochrane, or…"

"What about music?" suggested Hoshi.

"It may not be prudent to try and control the conversation." said T'Pol, "Andorians are supposedly raised to speak their minds, we should not try to restrain her from expressing hers."

Archer's eyes flicked to the door. T'Pol caught the move and said, "Shran is concerned about offending you, even if he won't admit it. While they are on Enterprise, they are both essentially at your mercy Captain."

"I'm not-"

"Neither of them are inclined to be very trusting." Phlox pointed out. "And Shran has never backed down from someone who challenges his own beliefs. It is likely he and Raizel argue about this sort of thing often. It may be part of how they communicate."

"So… we'd better get used to this?"

"Possibly." said Phlox. "They are volatile and expressive as a culture. They wouldn't be ashamed about arguing in public."

"Then I suppose we shouldn't be showing it makes us uncomfortable." said Trip, propping his head up.

"We should maybe encourage Chef to give her vegetarian food for a while." said Hoshi nodding at Raizel's plate. "She said the idea of eating red meat turned her stomach."

Archer frowned, then realised belatedly, "Oh, she'd be used to blue meat –literally." As he thought about it, he could imagine that her reaction to earth meat would pretty much match his own to Andorian meat. Whoops. "Well," he sighed, "No sense in wasting Chef's efforts."

They ate the rest of their food in relative silence. As Chef returned with dessert, Shran and Raizel came back in, strain evident on both their faces. They sat down and Shran tapped the side of his Crème Brule dish to test the temperature before delving into the dessert. Raizel did the same, a scowl forming on her face as she tasted the creamy vanilla mix.

"Don't you like it?" asked Trip, enjoying his own with relish.

"It… it's odd." she said slowly, eying the next spoonful before flicking her tongue out and scooping up a tiny amount. She considered the taste like a connoisseur, then said quietly, "I think I have eaten this before."

Everyone tried to be casual, but they all failed as they looked at her in surprise. Raizel tilted the dish to stare into the depths of the burnt cream, her eyes dark and far away. With almost dazed movements, she continued to eat it, and said no more. Shran watched her with concern, finishing his own off.

"When will your movie start?" the Andorian asked Trip to shift attention.

"After dinner, so in a few minutes I guess. I thought we could make it a regular thing, every couple of days we put on a classic film. Just you wait 'til you see Star Wars!"

"Star Wars?" repeated Shran dubiously.

"Think of it as… pre-First Contact Earth's idea about what being in space and around aliens was like."

"So… this is your imagination of aliens?"

"Yeah. There're literally thousands of films, books, plays, even songs about aliens."

"Humans have theorized aliens existed for the past…" Hoshi did a quick count on her fingers. "Six hundred years –maybe more, it depends on how you look at it."

"How do you look at it?" asked Shran challengingly. Archer repressed a smile; there was the Andorian he knew. Shran never accepted a brushed off remark. He would always demand an explanation. So he explained,

"Well… humans have known that the planets were different to the stars for most of human history, just by watching them move. The problem was, aside from some colour difference, the light reflected off a planet looked much the same as the light from a star. It wasn't until the telescope was invented in the 1600s –that'd be about six hundred years now –that the planets were seen to be very different to the stars. But before that, people had imagined that there were other worlds with people living on them, but without any information, much was believed to be the work of God."

"A famous document called the Talmud states that there are eighteen thousand other worlds in the cosmos, and that was written about two thousand years ago." said Travis, surprising Archer.

Shran was quiet for a few moments, then glanced at Raizel, who seemed to be coming back to herself, as she met his gaze with matching intrigue. "So… when you met the Vulcans… you weren't surprised they existed?"

"Oh we were! But more in the sense that 'Wow, aliens are real and they actually came to see us.' A lot of people believed, but that isn't the same as knowing." said Trip with a grin, "Who did you have for First Contact, I never asked before, always meant to?"

Shran's antennae seemed to curl into themselves and Raizel shuddered, her hand spasming against the rim of the table.

"That bad?" asked Malcolm, watching the two. Raizel fixed him with a stony glare.

"What would you call attempted genocide and enslavement?"

"… bad." Malcolm admitted, flushing a little. Trip cleared his throat.

"Better take War of the Worlds off the list of films then."

"Are we familiar with the species?" asked Phlox in a sober tone.

Shran's mouth twisted in a grimace, as if the very name tasted bad. "Orions…"

Just from their reactions, Archer had a new insight into just how terrifying Shran's oath to his daughter to keep her safe had been.

* * *

Reviews are always appreciated.

Night's Darkness


	15. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I don't own Disney… but it would be nice.

* * *

**Chapter 14**

Neither Shran nor Raizel were inclined to tell the story of Andoria's First Contact, so Trip decided to hurry up with setting the film up for them. There were more attending this screening than usual, and Archer noticed how hard they were all trying to watch Raizel without looking like they were. She was like an exotic discovery, a celebrity –which in a way she was. Archer dreaded how the paparazzi would handle her arrival and stay. She would probably be photographed to within an inch of her life.

Deciding to try and soothe ragged nerves, he pulled out one of the bottles of Andorian Ale he still had, and opened it. Shran and Raizel both visibly brightened at the sight of it. With their small shot glasses full to the brim, they tossed the fiery liquid back and smirked at one another, Raizel lifting a hand to tap at her collarbone. Shran laughed. Archer wondered what the joke was.

"Much better." said Raizel, eyeing the bottle openly. "Ale is so much better than that vine stuff you gave us."

Archer almost laughed at her pun, then realised she couldn't possibly know the grapes were a vine fruit because they hadn't told her. It was ridiculous that he had to keep reminding himself that he was dealing with someone who, although human, had never been on Earth and knew nothing about it. Her pale human face made him forget this and he mentally slapped himself, ordering his brain to get it together.

"I have to admit, it's a bit of an acquired taste." he said, holding up the bottle. Shran smirked,

"If you can't handle that, never try Klingon bloodwine."

"The name alone would dissuade me." said Archer at once. Raizel snorted,

"You'd never be able to handle it anyway. Corat can barely handle it, and he's got a far stronger constitution than a human."

Archer glanced at Shran who shrugged his antennae, "In fairness, it would probably have been wise to not binge on it for 10 days."

"A ten day binge?" repeated Travis in astonishment.

"We were off duty… Klaang insisted. It… it's what happens."

"Is this the time you woke up with a broken pelvis?" asked Raizel.

"It… was one of the times." said Shran slowly, frowning as he thought hard. "To be honest, most times I've drunk bloodwine all go the same way. Quite frankly I'm surprised we didn't die."

"We?" asked Archer.

"My team-mates, you remember them, you met them on P'jem."

Raizel giggled, "Unless they hit him hard enough to knock the memory out of him."

Archer gave a tight smile, he tried not to think hard about that first meeting, "I remember."

Raizel's eyes glittered, "That day we finally saw the Vulcans for the liars they are."

Shran pulled a strange face, seeming torn between agreeing with her, disagreeing and just plain did not know what to do. Thankfully, Trip's voice called out,

"Ok, we're ready. If you'll all kindly take your seats."

Archer directed the guests to the front row seats, Raizel sitting between the man and the thaan. Trip left Chef in command of the projector and went to stand in front of the screen.

"All right then, welcome everyone. Tonight we're gonna be watching a true classic. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs."

The crewmen clapped. Archer felt Raizel jump at the noise, and saw Shran cover her arm with his hand, although they did not look at each other. Trip continued,

"This film is a major feature in movie history. It was the first full length, cel-animated feature ever, as well as being the first made in America, the first to have colour and the first to be made by Disney, a name that's… well lets be honest, if you grew up on Earth, you know this name as well as you know your own. And if you're not from Earth, trust me, you'll soon know it more than you probably want."

Trip threw a grin at Shran more than Raizel, avoiding making her uncomfortable by drawing attention to her corat, who snorted.

"This was premiered in 1937, that's two hundred and eighteen years ago and it began something that I'd say no one could have imagined. Because of this film we got so many childhood memories, like Bambi, The Lion King, Dumbo, Fantasia, King of the Elves, The Hunchback of Notre Dame… the list goes on! Barely a year has gone by where there hasn't been a new Disney movie –save of course during the Eugenics Wars. And it all started with this film. So, I'm gonna shut up now and let you all enjoy it."

Trip sat down next to Archer and Chef switched the lights off and the projector on. Archer glanced at Raizel, and was pleased to see she looked intrigued as the music swelled and the movie began. And of course, it opened with an ornate story book giving the back story. Which Raizel couldn't read.

"… crap!" hissed Trip. Archer turned to read it to her, but found Shran was already whispering in her ear and she was listening attentively. There was a tense few moments where Archer marvelled at Shran's ability to read English when Archer had never been able to read a single letter of Andorian, and then it mercifully passed as the Wicked Queen appeared and spoke to the mirror.

The film passed easily, Raizel jumped a couple of times during the scarier scenes and Archer wondered what it was like to watch this film for the first time. He couldn't recall when he had first seen it he had been so young. Her hands flexed and twitched on her lap during the musical pieces, but her face was stoic, so Archer couldn't tell if it was excitement or distress causing the reaction. Shran seemed equally fascinated, eyes narrow and antennae stretched forward curiously as he tilted his head as if trying to figure out a puzzle. After a while Archer relaxed a bit and was able to enjoy the film. He couldn't recall the last time he had actually watched it, and he found himself appreciating the beauty of the hand drawn work.

As the credits declared 'And they lived Happily Ever After.' many of the crewmen burst into applause, Phlox giving an especially loud clap. Raizel moved her hands as if to clap, but changed her mind before her hands came together. Chef lifted the lights and people began to chat. Archer turned to Raizel and said cheerfully,

"What'd you think?"

Raizel's expression was mostly of confusion, as if she did not know what to think. "I… is that what Earth is like? Is that what humans are like?"

Well… they should have seen that coming.

"I think it might have been fantasy." said Shran wryly, "If they were all that simpering I doubt I'd be sitting here amongst them."

"But… why was that female so angry with the youth? Or was she a primary?"

"Why was the Queen angry with Snow White?"

"Yes."

"Because Snow White was more beautiful than the Queen and the Queen was jealous."

"Of what? She's a Clan Zhen, isn't she? Or was she an Empress? What would she care about the youth being more attractive than her?"

"Well… she's… the Queen is an example of vanity, and vanity isn't considered a good thing on Earth. It makes people cruel and selfish."

"And… that other primary, the male."

"The Prince?"

"Him. What… what was he doing? Was he trying to play with her at the start? Why didn't she play with him?"

"You mean when they were singing?"

"Yes."

"He was wooing her, he'd fallen in love with her." said Trip grinning.

"… 'fallen in love'? How can you fall into an emotion? It's an emotion."

"It's an expression, it means you… you see someone and 'boom' you're in love with them, you wanna marry them, spend your life with them."

"Upon a single sighting?" Raizel looked like she wanted to laugh, but was afraid to in case they were serious. "He heard her singing and decided just like that he wanted to bond with her? Without even trying to have sex with her?"

Archer couldn't repress the wince at the last question. Sex and Disney's Snow White, never something he thought he would have to talk about. He caught Hoshi's eye behind Raizel. Hoshi looked like she desperately wanted to laugh at him, but was restraining herself, just about.

"That… that's not how it works in… in fairy tales." said Trip weakly. "Humans… we… we… uh…"

"They court." said Shran, saving them again, "Isn't that it pink-skin? You have a mating ritual where you have to court one another before you mate."

"Yes!" exclaimed Archer relieved at being given the answer. "That's it. The Prince was courting her. They would only mate after they bond."

"How can you possibly know if someone's suited to you if you don't play with them?" demanded Raizel.

"Raizel it may be like when a quad is formed, that first night where they mate to conceived, but since humans are already fertile, they have to avoid mating until then." said Shran, looking to Archer for confirmation. It sounded right, so Archer nodded,

"Something like that."

Raizel looked somewhat pacified. "So… is that why she doesn't play with any of the short men? She does not want to conceive?"

Trip's face conveyed an insight of his childhood dying a little at the question. Hoshi clapped a hand over her mouth and hurried away giggling. Archer couldn't decide whether to laugh or be horrified.

"Well… they're too old for her." he said, "And besides, they care for her like… fathers, or brothers. Not… not playmates."

"Oh! Well that makes sense then. I was wondering." Raizel nodded, her expression clearing a little.

"What did you think of the music?" Archer asked before she could ask any more questions that would damage Trip's nostalgia.

"I liked it." said Shran, "It was… interesting how you put it in the background. Andorians wouldn't typically do that."

"Oh no?"

"Primaries would sing and play music, but it wouldn't be done like that." Shran jerked his thumb at the screen. "Not fit into the narrative like that."

Raizel looked at him in surprise, "What do you know of it?"

Shran smirked at her, "I was a Primary once."

"Sixty one years ago."

"And I remember it very well. Including helping out on some of the work."

"Like what?" asked Raizel in fascination. Shran shrugged,

"Nothing big. I mostly helped Telev."

"Captain Telev?" asked Archer in surprise. Shran nodded,

"He and I were playmates together as Primaries."

"And as Secondaries." said Raizel with a smirk to match Shran's. Shran chuckled and inclined his head in agreement. Raizel regarded him with narrowed eyes for a moment, then turned back to Archer, saying, "Captain, what was she wearing on her feet?"

"Snow White?"

"Yes. What were those shoes?"

"… you mean her high heels?"

"Is that what they are?" Raizel seemed puzzled, "They didn't look very stable."

"Erm… you're better off asking someone like Hoshi about that sort of thing. High heels aren't generally men's shoes. Why'd you ask?"

She shrugged, "I rather liked them."

Archer felt himself smiling broadly. Maybe that stereotype about women and their shoes wasn't total nonsense.

"Am I the same as Snow White? Are we of the same gender?"

"You're both female, girls, yes."

"She wasn't very… strong. Am I meant to be like her?"

"Um… she's a 1930's creation. Things were different then." Trip now looked like he was treading on a minefield.

"What do you mean?"

"Just… ideas about women and their behaviours and their… roles in society."

"Isn't their role to carry offspring?"

Trip coughed and Archer drew himself up, "Not… well… not just that. I mean, if they want to they can but it's not all they are… but-"

Raizel's expression became bland and she looked over her shoulder at Shran, "I shouldn't have asked should I?"

"Considering how pink they're both turning… yes you should have." smirked Shran. Raizel looked back at the two, then at Shran again and the two shared a laugh. Archer forced a smile on his face and said,

"So did you like the film overall?"

Raizel shrugged, "I suppose so. I didn't really understand it. But it looked… interesting."

"All hand drawn." said Trip, "That's a hell of a lot of drawings."

Raizel nodded thoughtfully. Then she frowned and grimaced as if in pain, her hand going to her stomach. In an instant that grimace became panic and she looked at the two in horror.

"C-corat…"

Shran instantly bent his head to her, his amusement gone. Raizel grabbed a fistful of his shirt and hissed into his ear. Shran looked alarmed and baffled, as Raizel grimaced again and doubled over.

"What's wrong?" asked Archer, glancing around for Phlox.

"Ngh!" Raizel's panic was open on her face and she turned away from Archer and in to Shran, clutching at his shirt like it was a lifeline. "Corat!"

Phlox seemed to materialise next to them as he rushed over. "Are you feeling ill?"

"Stay away from me!" she spat, pulling away from Phlox and pushing closer to Shran, who wrapped his arms around her protectively.

"What's wrong?" asked Archer, alarmed at the way she was curling up in pain. "Let's go to sickbay-"

"No!" snarled Raizel, "I'll go nowhere with you! You poisoned me!"

* * *

Ah… the calm never lasts.

Remember to review. They really are helpful!

Night's Darkness.


	16. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

"We what?"

Raizel threw him a look of loathing and clung on to Shran, who was looking very worried now.

"You've poisoned me!" she shouted, "Corat, do something."

Shran gathered her into his arms and lifted her up like she weighed nothing. Archer jumped to his feet.

"Shran, you know we would never-"

"Ngh!" Raizel groaned in pain and Shran backed away from Archer, mistrust blazing in his eyes.

"If you've harmed my sprog…" he hissed.

"Shran I swear we haven't done anything!"

"It's likely just a reaction to her food." said Phlox, "There was always a possibility that she would have an ill reaction to certain Earth foods. Stomach cramps are a common feature in such things. I can treat her easily if that is the case."

"No! I want to go to the Ariston." said Raizel, shaking her head. Shran nodded and looked at Archer.

"Then that's where we will go."

There was absolutely no negotiation in his tone. Archer swallowed and nodded,

"If that's what you want, then you can go to the Ariston. But I swear to you, we did not do anything to hurt her."

Shran was impossible to read but he didn't really give Archer any time to try as he strode out of the Mess, his daughter in his arms. Phlox rushed after them with Archer, who motioned to Trip to contact the Ariston. Shran made a beeline for the airlock, as Enterprise dropped out of warp and there was a clank of the two ships docking. The doors opened as Raizel cried out again in pain and Shran walked onto the Ariston without a backwards look. The door shut in Archer's face as he wondered how things had gone so bad, so fast.

* * *

Shran hovered near the biobed as the Ariston's Medic scanned Raizel, who was gritting her teeth against the pain in her stomach. Her hand held his in a death grip.

"Corat, it hurts!" she whimpered. Shran bent over her and bumped their brows together.

"You'll be fine. Medic will look after you."

"Of course he will, or it'll be his career." said a smooth, soft voice that normally had shivers running down Shran's antennae.

"Telev!" Raizel managed a tremulous smile as the Captain of the Ariston strode up to the bed and stood next to Shran.

"Hello little pink-skin." said Telev with quiet affection. "Don't worry. Whatever those Starfleet dogs did to you, Medic will look after you and then your corat and I will seek justice."

Shran's antennae wilted. The idea that Archer had betrayed him like this was almost beyond belief. He had thought Archer was his friend, as well as his ally. Had he been wrong to begin to question his life-long belief that aliens couldn't be truly trusted? And what if Raizel really had been poisoned? What if Medic did not cure her fast enough? The idea that she might… he shook it off. He couldn't even think of it, losing his sprog would devastate him.

"I can't believe they would be so blatant." said Telev coldly as he ran the tips of his fingers over Raizel's hair. "Are you feeling all right Shran? They didn't poison you too?"

Aside from the terror in his gut, Shran felt fine, so he just shook his head, focusing on his sprog.

"Hmm…" said Medic, looking at his scanner.

"What, what is it?" demanded Shran, feeling Telev tense up next to him.

"I am detecting a chemical that seems to be having a fermentation effect through the bacteria in her colon."

"What does that mean?" asked Raizel.

"I'm uncertain… but I do not think you have been poisoned. At least… not deliberately."

"How can you be sure?" asked Telev, while Shran felt a tingle of relief.

"Because I don't think this will do her much harm beyond some unpleasant abdominal symptoms. The chemical is reacting with the bacteria in her colon, producing excess amounts of hydrogen, carbon dioxide and methane. That's what's causing the pain."

"I think I'm going to be sick." said Raizel quietly. Telev jumped out of the way in time to save his boots. Shran didn't move and stroked her face as she heaved. Medic hummed to himself again.

"What did you eat at the human meal?"

"Some plants, she didn't touch the meat and something called brolay or something, but I don't know what was in it."

"Did you eat the same Commander?"

Shran nodded. Medic scanned him and nodded to himself.

"As I thought, you've got the chemical in you as well. However your digestive system is so adapted that it's tackling it, breaking it down, so you probably won't have any symptoms."

"So… the Starfleet pink-skins didn't poison her?"

"I would imagine not." said Medic calmly, "I think they served something they can eat easily, but probably requires growing up with a human diet to be able to tolerate, so Raizel lacks the required enzyme to break it down."

"The Denobulan said something to that effect." said Shran, rubbing Raizel's back as she squirmed in discomfort on the biobed. "Can't you give her something for it?"

"I believe the Denobulan will be able to-"

"No!" snapped Raizel, lifting her head.

"No?" asked Telev, sounding politely curious.

"I will not be treated by that lot!" she spat. "I want your treatments, not his!"

"Raizel, he would be able to treat you faster-"

"I don't care. I don't want his treatments." Raizel's panic was now giving way to embarrassed anger, her pain making it all the worse. Shran sighed in frustration.

"The pain-"

"I can handle it now I know I won't die." she said, her cheeks filling with colour.

"She's as stubborn as you are." said Telev with amusement. Shran threw him an irritated look.

"Not helping Telev."

"Oh I wasn't trying to." Telev smirked at him. "Let Medic treat her. If she wants to put up with pain so bad she thought she was dying a few minutes ago, rather than sacrifice her pride by letting the Denobulan help, so be it. It's her stomach."

Shran blinked, then smirked as he met Telev's eyes, realising his game, "I suppose you're right. Medic, how long will you take to treat her?"

"I've never treated a human before, I'm reluctant to give her anything for it until I understand it better." said Medic, rocking back on his heels with a wry wiggle of the antennae. "The pain might continue for another hour or so, along with the vomiting."

Shran glanced down at his vomit covered boots and grimaced. "Not nice at all."

Raizel hissed angrily, glaring up at Shran and Telev sulkily. "You're making fun of me."

"Why would we do that?" asked Telev lightly, glancing down at the vomit on the floor, grimacing and moving further away. "It makes perfect sense to suffer for wounded pride."

"You thought they were trying to kill me too!" she snapped.

"And now we know they are not. Why not take advantage of their medical knowledge so you can feel better faster?"

"I don't trust them!"

Telev reached out and flicked her nose, "I know you don't little primary. Frankly I don't either. But your corat does. Don't you trust your Corat?"

There was a loaded question if Shran ever heard one. Raizel hesitated a moment, then said, "He makes up my whole knoll. The knoll is made of trust. How can I not trust him?"

"Then maybe you should trust him to know what's best for you."

Raizel's green eyes focused on Shran's and they stared at each other, unblinking. Shran willed her to trust him to look after her. Finally, her death grip on his hand loosened, and she turned her hand so the palm was facing outward, his hand holding hers. Shran relaxed and bowed his antennae out, grateful for her faith as he said,

"Let the Denobulan treat you. He's competent with humans."

"He lost Talas." she said in a near whisper. Shran's antennae wilted and the familiar grief ripped through his innards.

"He did what he could. You know particle weapons are very dangerous for Andorians to be hit by."

"I have no reason to trust any of them." she said, "They're false, trying to make everything seem all right when it is not."

"They are trying to be agreeable. I'll admit they aren't very good at it. But they are trying. As you must. Your Dominants commanded it."

Raizel went to speak, but another cramp made her groan. She rolled onto her side and buried her face in her arms.

"Take my Dominants to the fire!"

Telev laughed, "Sulky little primary, do as your corat advises."

Raizel was quiet for a long time. Shran patiently ran his fingers through her hair, letting her think. Finally she agreed.

"But I want Medic to make sure he's not trying to trick us."

"I'd be more than happy to do so." said Medic wryly.

* * *

Archer pushed the chime on Shran's door, hearing the delayed "Come in." giving him access. The door slid open and he stepped inside. Shran was sitting on his bed, eyes fixed on the large nest that now took up his quarters. Raizel slept in the bowl, her breathing soft and loud in the small room. The room was dark, only faint lighting making their outlines visible, along with the streaking starlight outside.

"How is she?" asked Archer quietly, unwilling to speak above a whisper. Shran did not look up, but said in a matching whisper,

"Better. Phlox gave her a light sedative to help her sleep. She wanted to sleep here tonight."

"Of course, if it helps…" Archer trailed off, swallowed and watched Shran, watching his daughter. At last he said slowly, "Shran. You… you have to know I would never have…"

Shran held up a hand, silencing him. "Knowing and believing are very different things pink-skin. I would like to think I know you wouldn't do something like that. But you must remember something." The Andorian finally looked at Archer with eyes that seemed to glitter in the darkness. "I have spent my life fighting aliens. My people raise our sprogs to be wary of all things alien. We believe you cannot be trusted because you are not Andorian. Raizel believes this as much as I do. I know you wouldn't hurt her. But I believe you are more than capable of it if you thought it was best for your people."

"Shran-"

"Listen to me Captain. You need to understand what my daughter sees." Shran rose to his feet, moving to join Archer at the door. "She sees someone she does not trust, who is attempting to pretend that every thing is good, rather than real. My people try to raise sprogs to deal with reality. I know you are trying, but falsehoods are not going to work."

"We aren't false."

"But you are going out of your way to be cheerful and make everything sound as good as possible to appeal to her, aren't you?"

"We're trying to make her feel welcome."

"Then stop trying so hard to please. Just show her the reality and let her judge. All she sees right now is you attempting to hide something from her."

Archer swallowed and sighed, "Ok… maybe we're trying too hard."

Shran inclined his head, "You were. The best way to get through to a Primary is to allow her to explore on her own terms."

"Do you think we should cancel the plans for classes?"

Shran tilted his head, then said, "Give it a few days. Let her settle in and then ask her."

Archer wasn't sure why asking her hadn't occurred to him before. He nodded, "Ok. We'll let her settle in. But… you know you're not prisoners here, right?"

Shran pulled his head back and did not answer. Archer pressed forward, "Shran, you are not being held here. If you wanted to go to Captain Telev's ship… if you want to go home… I won't stop you."

Shran sighed, "You won't. But you can't be naïve enough to think that your government, your people, will be so obliging."

Archer sighed, knowing he was right, "I'd be willing to explain it to them. Try to remind them that-"

Shran shook his head, antennae wilting, "It wouldn't work. It's beyond you. It's beyond me, and it's beyond her."

They both looked at the nest. Raizel shifted under the silks she had pulled over her body. She looked like a child, her fist near her mouth, she almost seemed to be sucking her thumb.

"This is bigger than all of us." said Shran quietly, looking back at Archer, "So if you want to help now, what you can do is promise me, on the two you owe me, on the friendship we share, that you will put her first from now on."

Archer furrowed his brow, "Shran…"

"We cannot go back now." said Shran, "Just as I cannot go back on adopting her in the first place. So… can you promise me that you will put her before your government, before all governments?"

Archer wanted, desperately, to say yes. But he thought of the Coalition. He thought of the fragile relationships between the various species. Compared to that, Raizel was just one child.

"I can promise you I'll do whatever I can to protect her."

Shran smirked, "And that's a promise that means nothing to me."

Archer huffed, "Shran-"

"This is my sprog, pink-skin!" hissed Shran, shoving his face into Archer's glaring up at him. "She matters beyond my commission, beyond anything or anyone else to me! So you saying you'll maybe make a token protest to your government to their treatment means nothing."

"I said I would look out for her and I mean it. But maybe I would have a better chance of doing it if I'd known before your government decided to tell mine."

Shran stiffened and glanced over his shoulder at Raizel before jerking his head to the side, indicating they ought to go outside. Archer obliged and the next second found himself nose to nose with a livid Andorian.

"What did you expect me to do? If I'd told you when we first met you'd have demanded her back –I'd just tortured you for information! If I had done it during the negotiations on Weytahn, you'd have sided with the Vulcans. If I had done it while you were in the Expanse, your government would have dealt with it without you and you're the only one of your kind I have any amount of trust for."

"What about earlier this year? We've run into each other enough."

"Do you really think I was going to lose my child as well as my ship, and my potential bond-mate?" demanded Shran.

"If you had told me before, I could at least have prepared for all of this better."

"What could you have done that would have helped?"

"I… I would have talked with members of Starfleet I trust, unofficially."

"And then I would have been punished by my government for involving a primary without their consent, and would probably have been thrown in prison!"

"But she's your child."

"She is also a primary. Under the laws of Andoria once a primary enters a Collaboration they fall under the laws of the Dominants and the Imperial Council. I don't have legal rights to her protection anymore. By revealing her existence without the Council's consent I would have been breaking the law."

Archer's head began to hurt, so he lifted his hands in a peaceful gesture. "Ok… look, you just said you were trapped by your government, so you have to understand that I am somewhat trapped by mine."

"The difference being that if telling you would protect her, I would have done it."

"And I will do what I can to look after her too. If I really think my government is doing wrong then I will get her out of there."

Shran regarded him for a long time and Archer wished he could just assure Shran that he would do everything he could to protect Raizel. Finally, Shran sighed and shrugged,

"I guess that's the best you can do."

With a final, disappointed look, Shran went back into his quarters, leaving Archer feeling like he had utterly failed to make any sort of peace with the Andorian.

* * *

So… yeah, everyone's pretty stuck. Can anyone think of any… 'human' things for Raizel to learn? Things that might be relevant to her education? It'd be a big help.

Night's Darkness


End file.
